Life Runs Into Chaos
by Celey
Summary: Yusuke Urameshi is about to go through a drastic change in his life. It isn't long before his friends are dragged into the mess themselves. Crossover.
1. Yusuke, Meet the Tendo Family

Yusuke Urameshi couldn't believe it. His mother had woke him up at some early hour in the morning. At first, he thought she had woke him up to get ready for school. He wouldn't have been able to believe that, either, really, since his mother was usually still in bed when he woke up to go to school (or in most cases, get up around school time and goof off). He soon found out that it wasn't a school day and that his mother had woke him up for some other reason. Another thing, he could tell she was drunk.

'REALLY drunk,' he thought.

"Yushuke! Yushuke! Are yous up?" Atsuko asked.

"For the eighth time, yes!" Yusuke shouted.

He was wondering when his mother would stop shaking him and finally get to the reason why she had woke him up. He was getting ready to just ignore his mother and go back to sleep.

"I foundish him! I've finallyish foundish shhhim!" Atsuko laughed.

Yusuke yawned, "Found who?"

"Shyour fasher!" Atsuko exclaimed.

'Oh man. Not again,' Yusuke thought.

He sighed as memories of his mother claiming she found his father flooded his head. His immediate thoughts went to three separate instances that occurred when he was younger. There was that time his mother almost convinced him when he was ten years old, that his father was some hobo dressed in a clown suit. That is until he found out that the hobo was stealing money from her, upon which he promptly beat the living daylights out of the stupid hobo clown. He never saw him again.

Then, there was that time his mother told him that his father was some American hero that dressed like a bat. Yusuke didn't even bother listening to his mother on that one for two reasons. First, his mother had never been to America. Second, the American hero that dressed like a bat was mainly urban legend, anyway. Luckily for him, she passed out soon afterward.

Not long after that, his mother went on and on about how his father was a plumber going by the name of Mario. Of course, she had been at the arcade at the time and had been playing some game or another. Yusuke automatically assumed that she had drank too much and played a game too much. He wasn't sure which game because the game machine itself was a plain red. Also, his mother couldn't play for a few seconds without getting a game over.

Yusuke snapped out of his flashbacks long enough to realize his mother had been talking to him.

"Okay, Yushuke! Let'sh go shee yous fasher," Atsuko announced.

"What?" Yusuke replied.

The word had barely left his mouth when his mother grabbed him by the ear and dragged him outside to the car. The car was old and junky. It was clear that it hadn't been driven in quite some time and in Yusuke's mind, for good reason. Atsuko practically threw her son into the dirty automobile and got in the driver's seat. Yusuke looked as though he was going to go into a state of shock.

'She's not actually going to... drive, is she? This is a nightmare! Just a nightmare... Wake up, wake up, wake up...' he thought.

Unfortunately for Yusuke, it wasn't a nightmare. It was also unfortunate for him that his mother actually managed to start the car and take off down the streets of the city. Yusuke looked pale as the car was driven by his drunken mother. There were several times she drove on the wrong side of the road, drove off the road, and nearly hit things such as other passing vehicles, trees, and sign posts.

"M-mom... Mom... MOM!" Yusuke screamed.

"Wh... Whatish, shear?" Atsuko mumbled.

Yusuke pointed wildly to the truck they were about to run into, "TRUCK! TRUCK!!!!!"

Atsuko giggled and the car veered away from the truck just in time. Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief.

'I thought I was going to end up as a ghost again. Next time, I might not be so lucky, though. I better come up with some kind of plan of our escape if this old junker crashes,' he thought.

Normally, Yusuke wasn't one to be scared easily and he hardly ever planned things out. However, Atsuko's driving was bad enough to cause anyone's normal behavior to be drastically changed, if only temporarily. After an hour of driving, Yusuke had the courage to take his eyes off the road for a few seconds to see where they were. It looked like... Tokyo?

'Oh man... We're going to get lost. We're going to get hurt. We're going to be in so much trouble. My mom is insane!' his thoughts raced.

A while later, they drove into a place called Nerima. His mother finally stopped the car in somebody's yard. She got out of the car and dragging Yusuke, stopped in front of the house. She was greeted by a middle-aged man. Yusuke was so relieved to be out of the car that he didn't try to stop his mother.

"Shello! Ish dis shuh Tender reshidenshe?" Atsuko questioned.

"Tender?" the middle-aged man wondered out loud.

Then, his face dawned a look of realization, "Oh, you mean, Tendo!"

The man's face paled, "Look, lady, I have nothing to do with them! They're over there! Leave me in peace!"

He withdrew into his house. Atsuko merrily skipped, with Yusuke in tow, to the Tendo residence. A young, beautiful woman with long, brown hair answered the door. Atsuko was a giggling mess by now and was leaning on Yusuke just to prevent from falling down. Yusuke looked beyond irritated.

"Shello, shello!" Atsuko laughed.

"Oh, hello!" the young woman greeted.

She looked at Atsuko and Yusuke with a puzzled look, "I don't believe we've met before."

"Heh heh. Right. Sorry for bothering you. It was... a mistake! Yeah! A mistake! We're going, now! C'mon, mother," Yusuke insisted.

His voice was nervous and when he said the word 'mother' he said it in an almost venomous tone.

"No, no. Yushuke... Shtay... We're... ish... Shlooking for shomebody," Atsuko explained.

The young woman smiled, "Oh? Well, it wouldn't be very polite of me not to invite you in, then. Come in, come in. Would you like some tea? Who are you looking for?"

"Sh... sake, niiiishe... Shoun... Shlooking for Shoun Tender," Atsuko answered.

"I think you've had enough sake," Yusuke muttered as he was dragged inside by his mother.

"Father? That's odd. People usually don't ask for him. Well, I'm sure its a pleasant change, anyway. I'm Kasumi Tendo," Kasumi said.

"Nishe to meet yous, Kashumi. I'mish Atshuko and dis my shon, Yushuke," Atsuko replied.

Yusuke had seated himself. Atsuko was holding a potted plant, now. Yusuke sighed and put the potted plant back where it belonged.

"I'll go get, father," Kasumi told them.

She walked away thinking that Atsuko was such a nice, funny lady.

"I can't believe you," Yusuke grumbled.

"Hmm?" Atsuko murmured.

Yusuke glared at his mother, but figured she wouldn't notice if he said anything more, anyway.

'I can't believe she dragged me all the way to this strange place, to this strange home, to see these complete strangers! I can't believe I actually let her do it, too!' he thought.

Two men came into the room. The man with long, black hair spoke, first, "I take it you wanted to see me?"

"Shoun!" Atsuko exclaimed.

She jumped up out of her seat and latched onto the man, presumably named Soun. Kasumi came in with tea at that moment and nearly dropped the tray in surprise.

"Oh my! Father, do you know her?" she questioned.

The other man looked just as surprised and it was obvious that he wanted to know the same thing. Soun's hands shot up in the air as if he was being held at gun point.

"No! I've never seen her before in my life! I swear it!" he shouted.

Yusuke was surprised by his mother's actions as well. He stood up and tried to pry his mother off Soun, but Atsuko had an iron-grip on the poor man.

"Can't... breathe," Soun gasped.

"Oh, Shoun, shilly. Don't yous reshamember me? Atshuko Urashameshi?" Atsuko giggled.

"No," Soun coughed.

Atsuko's eyes began to up and then, she cried loudly. The good thing was that she had let go of Soun. This caused Yusuke to stumble backwards, but he was able to regain his footing sure enough.

"But... whatish about yous shon, Yushuke?" Atsuko bawled.

Kasumi frowned, "Oh dear."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't have a son!" Soun insisted.

Yusuke's irritation only grew, "That's it, mom! We're leaving! You're too drunk to even know what the heck you're saying!"

"Dis not shrue!" Atsuko hiccuped.

Yusuke started to drag his mother outside, but he stopped when another girl came into the room. She looked like she was younger than Kasumi and had short, brown hair.

"What's all the commotion in here about?" she asked.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through everyone in the room.

"Uhh... Saotome, help me out here," Soun muttered.

The other man, presumably named Saotome, was already sneaking away.

"And where do you think you're going, Mr. Saotome? Let me guess, this is your doing again, isn't it?" the girl questioned.

"Honestly, I've never seen these two before!" Mr. Saotome defended.

The girl's attention turned to Atsuko and Yusuke.

"Its all just a misunderstanding. My mom is drunk. I'm sorry that we've bothered you. She seems to think that... Mr. Tendo is my father or something. I'm just going to be going, now. Again, sorry," Yusuke explained.

"But... he dis yous fasher!" Atsuko whined.

"Oh, this is interesting. Have a seat... umm...," the girl started.

"Yusuke," Yusuke stated.

"Well, have a seat, Yusuke, and your mother, too. Let's get to the bottom of this," the girl said.

"But there's nothing to get to the bottom to! My mother is drunk! End of story! I want to go home!" Yusuke growled.

He sat down with his mother, anyway.

"Grumpy much? Just calm down. Let's see what your mother has to say," the girl stated.

"I shay... dat Shoun dis Yushuke's fasher!" Atsuko proclaimed.

She collapsed into a fit of giggles and then she latched herself onto Soun again. Yusuke didn't bother getting up. Soun's hands once again shot up into the air.

"And why do you think that?" the girl asked.

"Cush... Shoun and me... hadish shex!" Atsuko announced.

The girl's face shifted to something of a neutral expression. Mr. Saotome and Soun's eyes seemed to bug out of their heads. Yusuke was mildly shocked at his mother's blunt statement. Kasumi only blinked a few times.

"Where?" the girl questioned.

"NABIKI! How can you ask something like that?" Soun shrieked.

The girl, Nabiki ignored her father.

"At shuh bar... in shuh car," Atsuko mumbled.

She looked like she was about to fall asleep. Nabiki handed her some tea. Atsuko grabbed it, thinking it was sake, and downed it.

"Ick... weakest sake ever," she muttered under her breath.

Yusuke simply shook his head at his mother. He looked a bit sleepy himself, but the primary expression on his face was that of annoyance.

'This better hurry up. I want to go home,' he thought.

"Which bar?" Nabiki queried.

Atsuko named a bar and Soun admitted to having been there a few times before. He denied having even seen Atsuko there, though. Then, another girl came into the room. She looked younger than Nabiki and had short, dark hair. She looked around, noticing everyone gathered in the room, "Umm... what's going on?"

Nabiki grinned, "Hello, Akane. Good of you to join us. It seems this boy, Yusuke... is having a small family problem. You see, his mother seems to think that our dad is Yusuke's father."

Akane blinked, "Oh."

Nabiki stared blankly at Akane for a moment. Then...

"WHAT?" Akane shrieked.

She looked at Soun with wide eyes.

"Don't look at me! I have no idea why this woman thinks that I'm this boy's father! I've never seen her or this kid before in my entire life up until this point!" Soun cried.

"Why don't you have a seat, Akane," Nabiki suggested.

Akane sat down, turning her head towards Yusuke and Atsuko. She was looking at them like they were psychopaths. Yusuke's expression didn't change one bit.

'Just how many girls are in this family, anyhow?' he wondered.

Nabiki turned her attention back to Atsuko, "Now, then. When and where did you and my dad first meet?"

Atsuko's head bowed for a moment, as though she was going to nod off.

"This is pointless. I already told you, she's drunk," Yusuke said, scowling.

"Oh? Don't you want to find out if my dad is your dad, too?" Nabiki asked.

Her voice seemed almost mocking. Yusuke glared at her, "No."

"Are you sure?" Nabiki persisted.

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Yes."

Akane frowned, "Nabiki, leave him alone. You heard what he said. Its a mistake. I don't see why you should keep him and his mother here any longer."

"But," Nabiki started, when Atsuko suddenly stood up.

She was wobbling and laughing, "Bhhhsshhhh kaaaa dorrrr.... At shuh bar!"

Everyone besides Yusuke outright stared at her. Nabiki snapped her fingers. It seemed she was the only one that had noticed that Atsuko's first drunken phrase was the date that Atsuko had met Soun. At the bar must've been the place.

'No wonder he doesn't remember. That was a good while back. That's not too long after... Mother died,' Nabiki thought.

For a moment a pained expression crossed her face, but she quickly regained her composure before anyone could notice. Nabiki confronted Soun with the date and Soun had to admit that he had been at the bar that day to drink away his sorrows. Kasumi and Akane looked a bit hurt, but for their own reasons, they didn't allow themselves to look that way for very long. Yusuke was beginning to get curious.

'Mom has never been this convincing before. Oh whatever. It doesn't matter, anyway. She's still drunk. It could just be a coincidence,' he thought.

"Now, daddy. There seems to be evidence building in Yusuke's mother's favor. You're not deliberately lying to us, are you?" Nabiki questioned.

"No. I guess... maybe we did meet before. I don't know! I can't remember that far back!" Soun cried.

Nabiki smiled in an innocent manner, "It comes with old age, daddy."

Soun went from glaring to the look of someone in denial, "I am not old!"

"Yes, daddy," Nabiki whistled.

Soun crossed his arms and looked like he was about to pout.

'Man, what an idiot,' Yusuke thought.

Nabiki once again directed her attention back to Atsuko, "Perhaps you could tell us something about my dad. Something that perhaps you saw... or he told you, that not many people would know?"

Atsuko laughed maniacally, which scared everyone, even her son, "HEshaaahahahaha.... HAS A SHCAR ON SHIS BUTT!"

The reactions in the room varied. Soun was staring at her wide-eyed. Mr. Saotome's eyebrow rose. Kasumi was shaking her head. Akane was looking back and forth from Atsuko to her father, giving both of them strange looks. Nabiki looked a little disgusted. Yusuke was gaping at his mother.

Akane started gaping at her father and was the first one to speak after a moment of silence, "Is that true, dad?"

"Y-yeah," Soun stuttered.

Atsuko fell to the floor. She started laughing some more before crawling over to Soun and hugging him again. Soun just stared blankly ahead. Nabiki stood up and walked over to him. She bent down and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hmm. He's fainted," Nabiki announced.

Kasumi frowned and examined her father, "I think father needs some rest, now. Akane, would you help me carry him to his room?"

"Of course," Akane replied.

The two Tendo girls left carrying their father to his room. Mr. Saotome looked at Nabiki, Atsuko, and Yusuke, then he coughed.

"I think I'm feeling ill," Mr. Saotome lied.

He got up and ran away to who knows where. Yusuke wondered what was up with him. As if reading his mind Nabiki said to him in a casual tone of voice, "Mr. Saotome is always running away. Pay no mind to him."

Yusuke shrugged, "Whatever."

"I think the only way to truly figure out if my dad is your father is through a DNA test," Nabiki concluded.

Yusuke yawned, "I don't care. Come on, mom. Let's go home."

"But we... shhhhheeerr... Aboo boo boo," Atsuko babbled.

Yusuke stared at her puzzedly, "What?"

Atsuko suddenly started crying, "WE CAN'T, YUSHUKE!"

"What do you mean we can't? We have enough gas to get us home. I'm driving, by the way. There's nothing stopping us," Yusuke told her.

Atsuko mumbled, "We can't... Hey! Yous can't driiiivvveee."

"I'm willing to bet I can drive better than you," Yusuke grumbled.

Atsuko started crying as she reached into her pockets and pulled out a wad of paper. She handed it to Yusuke. Yusuke started weeding through the wad of paper, unsure of what it was his mom was trying to give him. Secretly, he was hoping she had given him some money out of the wad.

"Hmm. Coupons, coupons... Lint. Picture of me. Newspaper clippings. Hmm? What's this?" Yusuke listed, before something of interest came up.

He read the few papers he had left in his hand. He dropped them in surprise. His eyes were wide open and his jaw had dropped. He looked over at his mother, "Y-you... sold our home?"

"Hehehehehe, yesh. I use moneys to buy sake... lotsh of sake," Atsuko giggled.

She paused in her giggling. Her eyes drooped and then she fell backwards. She had passed out. Yusuke looked at the papers, still in shock.

'I... I can't believe this,' he thought.

Nabiki immediately saw an opportunity, "Oh no. You're homeless."

Yusuke looked up from the papers to glare at her, "Shut up!"

"Hey. Watch it. I could quite possibly be your older sister. Older half-sister, but its practically the same thing, anyway," Nabiki informed.

Yusuke just gave her a sour look.

"Listen, why don't you stay with us? You would have to pay the rent, of course. But the scenery is great here. Plus, there's never a dull moment," Nabiki suggested.

"Pay the rent?" Yusuke wondered out loud.

"Yes. Unless you have any other options," Nabiki said.

'Hmm. Do I have any other options? I'm sure we could always stay at Kuwabara's,' he thought.

He began to vision what that would be like and immediately crossed that option out.

'No way am I going to ask HIM for any favors! The last thing I need is for him to rub that in my face constantly!' he thought.

Then, he wondered if perhaps Kayko would take him and his mother in.

'I'm sure she would. It might be nice living with Kayko,' he thought.

He shook his head.

'No, I can't do that to her and without warning,' he thought.

His face scrunched up for a moment. As though, he was afraid some telepath might be listening to his thoughts, he quickly came up with another reason he couldn't stay with Kayko.

'She'd just nag and nag and nag. Go to school, Yusuke. Quit solving your problems with your fists, Yusuke. Eat your vegetables, Yusuke,' he thought, imagining Kayko saying those things.

He thought some more. Maybe Genkai would...

'No, no, no! I'm not staying with that old hag! She'll drive me nuts!' he thought.

Nabiki tapped her foot, "I'm waiting."

"All right, all right. I don't have any other choice. How much is the rent?" Yusuke sighed.

Nabiki pulled his head close to her and began whispering in his ear. Yusuke's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Whoa, whoa! That much? You're joking!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"I don't joke," Nabiki declared.

Yusuke knew his mom wouldn't be able to pay that.

"I don't know if we can afford...," Yusuke began.

Nabiki held up her hand and cut him off, "Then... I guess you're just going to have to get a job."

Yusuke was struck speechless. His only thought was, 'A job?'

"I need some of your blood," Nabiki stated.

Yusuke snapped out of his stupor and narrowed his eyes, "What for?"

"The DNA test," Nabiki told him.

Yusuke shook his head, but decided to give her some of his blood, anyway. He wasn't normally inclined to be so agreeable, but he really didn't feel like ending up on the streets for saying something stupid.

Nabiki started to walk away, but Yusuke stopped her.

"Where should I put her?" Yusuke asked.

"Who?" Nabiki inquired.

"My mom," Yusuke responded.

Nabiki turned around and saw that Yusuke was holding his mother, "Oh, her. Put her in Kasumi's room."

She gave him directions to Kasumi's room. Yusuke put Atsuko on Kasumi's bed and then left to go park the car somewhere. Curious, he opened the trunk of the car. He hoped his mom at least packed their stuff. He was relieved to find that she did.

'Wonder what she did with the furniture?' he wondered.

He noticed a sticky note attached to one of the suitcases. It was in very poor handwriting. Being of poor handwriting himself, though, he was able to read it without too much difficulty.

"Yusuke, sold all the furniture and bought some more alcohol. Love, mom," Yusuke read.

He looked angry for a moment. He slammed his fist on one of the suitcases, but not so hard as to dent it or shatter it into a million pieces. The suitcase popped on to reveal bottles of... sake. Yusuke looked horrified.

'Oh, don't tell me all these suitcases are filled with alcoholic beverages!' he thought.

He opened each suitcase and found that three of them were filled with what he wished they weren't filled with. Luckily, three other suitcases had the important things that they needed. He let out a sigh of relief.

'I'm glad things haven't gotten worse,' he thought.

-

-

-

(Author's Note: I know I got a few other fanfiction that I haven't finished, but I assure you they're all in progress. That note is for my previous readers. Obviously, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Ranma 1/2. And for my new readers, to clear up some things, I do know Mr. Saotome's first name... I just haven't gotten it into the story yet. Its just... everybody has referred to him as Mr. Saotome, so the narrator is going to do just that until its cleared up. Anyway, hope you all enjoy the story. This is a multi-chaptered fanfic, so keep your eyes open for ch. 2!)


	2. Fighting, It Happens and It Doesn't

Soun sat up quickly, gasping. It seemed as though he had just woke up from a nightmare.

"Father! Its good to see you awake!" Kasumi exclaimed.

Akane waved at him, "Hey, dad."

Soun started to sob. Kasumi frowned, "Oh my. What is the matter, father? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Kasumi, it was horrible! It was a horribly crazy dream that I had! I dreamt some strange drunken woman and her son came over. Then, the drunken woman kept telling all of us that her son was my son! And... and... and... It was just awful, Kasumi! Just awful," Soun cried.

Nabiki had been sitting on a chair in the room. She was grinning.

"Umm... dad," Akane started.

"Father," Kasumi began.

Nabiki stood up and handed Soun a few papers, "The DNA results are in."

Soun started to speak, but decided to just stare at the papers instead.

"Ninety-nine and nine tenths percent," Soun muttered.

"In other words, its a sure thing that you are in fact, Yusuke's father," Nabiki told him.

Soun just sat there, staring at the paper. He hadn't fainted again because he was still blinking. Kasumi and Akane were silent, unsure what to think about it all.

"Now, we all have a younger brother. Also, Yusuke and his mother will be staying with us. Apparently, his mother sold the place and used the money to buy sake. I graciously offered for them to live here," Nabiki told her family.

'Graciously. You're not fooling me, Nabiki,' Akane thought, shaking her head.

Then, she thought of another thing. A smile suddenly came to Akane's face. It got bigger and bigger the more she thought. She suddenly stood up.

"YES! I'M NOT THE YOUNGEST, ANYMORE! WOOHOO!" Akane shouted.

It looked as if she was about to break into song and dance, but she realized the outburst she had just made already seemed out of place. She quickly sat back down. Her cheeks were tinged red with embarrassment.

"Are you sure we have room for them, Nabiki? Mr. Saotome and Ranma already have the guest room," Kasumi wondered out loud.

"Sure. Yusuke's mother is going to be staying in your room, Kasumi. I don't think our dad is ready to actually share a room with her. Also, I think there's room enough in the guest room for Yusuke," Nabiki explained.

Yusuke suddenly walked by the room, looking around. He was carrying three suitcases. Two were stuck under his arms while another was placed in his right hand. It seemed the weight of the suitcases was no problem for him.

"Where have you been, Yusuke? Its been hours since I've seen you," Nabiki queried.

Yusuke shrugged, "I just went for a walk."

Inwardly, Yusuke was proud of himself. He walked until he was outside of Tokyo. Then, having carried the three suitcases of sake that far, he threw them into a heavily wooded area and walked back to Nerima. There was no way his mother would be able to get to the cases of sake she bought, now.

"Well, if those suitcases contain your stuff, just put them in the guest room. You'll be sharing it with two other people, but there's enough room for you," Nabiki told him.

Once again, she gave him directions, so that he could get to the guest room. He started to leave. Akane stood up and ran over to him.

"Hey, wait up. You want me to help you with your stuff?" she asked.

The idea of having a younger brother intrigued Akane. Most all the boys she had met in her life were jerks, brainless morons, or were for some reason, too shy to have a decent conversation with. Yusuke, to her, didn't seem very shy. She also figured that since he was related that he might be nice to her. It'd be fun to have a boy around that she could actually talk to.

Yusuke looked at her and grumbled, "No."

Akane looked a bit disappointed, "Oh. Okay."

She walked with him to Kasumi's room, anyway. Yusuke dropped off two suitcases there and headed for the guest room. He looked at her with a bit of annoyance in his expression.

"Why are you following me?" Yusuke questioned.

"Well, I figured since you're living here, now, and since technically, you're my little brother, I might as well get to know you. The DNA test confirmed that my dad is your dad, too. Isn't that great?" Akane said.

"Not really," Yusuke muttered.

Akane frowned, "You mean you're not excited to finally know who your father is? Haven't you always wanted a sister? It must be lonely being an only child."

"I could care less," Yusuke said.

He went into the guest room and dropped the suitcase off there. He looked around, sighing. Akane frowned again, "Oh, I get it. You're upset right now, aren't you? It must be tough having to move away from your friends and without even getting the chance to tell them that you're moving."

Yusuke gritted his teeth, "What do you know?"

Akane almost looked a bit angry, "Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just trying to be nice."

"Yeah? Well, stop it. I don't need some stupid girl pitying me!" Yusuke yelled.

Akane got really mad, then, and clenched her fists, "I AM NOT JUST SOME STUPID GIRL!"

"Tch. Whatever," Yusuke grunted, putting his hands in his pockets and giving her the cold shoulder.

Akane's eyes almost started to tear up, but she was determined not to start crying in front of someone she barely knew. She guessed she was wrong about having a brother, after all. She stormed out of the guest room, shouting, "I just wanted to be friends, you jerk!"

Yusuke sensed a hint of sadness in her voice. He stood in the room, thinking for a moment, before sighing.

'Well... Urgh! Stupid conscience!' he thought.

He walked out of the room and began searching the house, assuming Akane would probably be in her room. Eventually, he found a door with a cute little sign that had 'Akane' written on it. He opened the door without knocking. Luckily, it wasn't locked. Akane quickly sat up and dried her eyes. She glared at him, "What do you want?"

"Hey, listen, Akane, was your name? Well, look, Akane, I'm no sissy. I'm your regular juvenile delinquent. I beat up people... for fun! So, there's no need to get upset just because I'm yelling because believe me I can do worse!" Yusuke growled.

Akane stared at him. Yusuke smirked, as though satisfied with himself.

"You're crazy," Akane said at last.

"You bet I am!" Yusuke exclaimed.

Akane surprised him when she started laughing. Yusuke started to look defensive, "Hey! What are you laughing at? I'm not messing around! I'm crazy! I'm dangerous!"

"You're... you're... funny!" Akane giggled.

She broke down into a fit of giggles. Yusuke was the one staring at her, now, "I am not!"

"Yes, you are! You came... all the way in here... Just to tell me... Hehehehehehehe. Just to tell me... not to be upset... Because you're some crazy, dangerous punk who beats up people for fun. Looks like you're not such a jerk after all!" Akane laughed.

Yusuke was starting to look confused.

'Sheesh. And I thought I was crazy,' he thought.

Akane got up out of bed and walked up to him. She was the one smirking, now, "Hey, I have an idea. How about we have a little sparring match? You said you beat up people, right? Well, let's see just how tough you are."

Yusuke frowned for a moment. Akane gave a frustrated sigh, "Oh, please. Don't tell me you don't fight girls..."

Yusuke scoffed, "Yeah, I'll fight girls that can fight. You sure you're up to it? I'm not the one whose going to be blamed if you get hurt."

"Hey! I can fight, trust me. I'm the fighter in this family. I'm not afraid to get hurt. So, don't go easy on me, okay? I want you to give it all you've got," Akane told him.

"All right, then. Lead the way, Akane," Yusuke said.

He knew he was going to go easy on her, anyway. Not because she was a girl, but because he knew if he didn't, he'd end up killing her. Yusuke didn't know how strong Akane was because he couldn't sense spirit energy as well as Kuwabara could. Sure, if the opponent he was fighting had a phenomenal amount of spirit energy, it was no problem for him to sense it, but he could tell Akane didn't have a phenomenal amount of spirit energy. Therefore, he knew instinctively that Akane was nowhere near as strong as he was.

Akane lead him to the dojo training area. Yusuke walked to one end of the room and Akane walked to the opposite side of the room. She bowed to Yusuke and waited for him to do the same. He just stood there, as if he was the one waiting for her.

"Hey! Aren't you going to bow?" Akane inquired.

Yusuke gave her a weird look, "No. Why should I?"

"Gee, what kind of Martial Artist, are you?" Akane asked.

"I'm not a Martial Artist at all," Yusuke told her.

Akane looked exasperated, "I thought you said you could fight!"

Yusuke grinned, "I can. I street fight. Its a whole lot different than Martial Arts."

"Well, fine. Let's just get started, then," Akane said.

Yusuke shrugged, "Ready when you are."

With that, Akane charged at him. She punched him once in the shoulder and twice in the chest. Then, she did a round house kick to his side. Yusuke hadn't moved at all. In fact, he hadn't even flinched. Akane was surprised at this to say, the least.

'Why isn't he dodging my attacks? Why doesn't he seem hurt? How come he isn't fighting me?' she wondered.

'Man, she isn't even using any spirit energy behind her attacks. I'm not even feeling them,' Yusuke thought.

"Hey! You gonna fight me or not?" Akane growled.

"Just so you know, you asked for it," Yusuke told her.

Akane jumped back away from him, but Yusuke rushed, at what was a snail's pace for him, to her and punched her 'lightly' in the abdomen. It came too fast for Akane to dodge, block, or even counter. She doubled over, gasping. She coughed for a moment and didn't even have any time to recover from the punch. Yusuke punched her a few more times and then kicked her in the same spot causing her to be knocked down to the floor.

"Unnnn," Akane moaned.

"Had enough, already? Thought you wanted to fight," Yusuke teased.

Akane stood up and glared at him, "I'm just getting warmed up! That's all!"

"Suuure you are," Yusuke kidded.

"Grrr. I'm not weak, you know!" Akane shouted.

She charged at him again, punching and kicking as hard as she could. Yusuke was beginning to feel a little bit of spirit energy behind her attacks this time.

'Now, that's funny. A few seconds ago, she wasn't using any spirit energy. Now, she is using a little bit. Weird. Hmm,' he thought.

Yusuke grabbed her leg as she was about to kick him again and threw her up in the air behind him. Then, he quickly turned around and kicked her back. Akane let out a small shriek of pain as she flew into the wall.

"Is that all you got, Akane?" Yusuke yelled to her.

Akane groaned as she pulled herself away from the wall. She clenched her fists and didn't even say anything back to Yusuke as she continued to bombard him with punches and kicks. Yusuke kicked her in the shin a couple of times and uppercutted her when she stepped back while trying to punch him in the face. Yusuke punched her in the gut again. Yusuke yawned, "I'm bored."

'Gradually, she's using more spirit energy in her attacks. I wonder why she doesn't just use however much spirit energy she has. Hmm. Maybe she doesn't know how to use it correctly?' he thought.

Akane's look got fiercer, "I'm... I'm... not a w-weakling!"

Yusuke shrugged and grinned, "Could've fooled me."

Akane seemed to tremble in rage, "Oh yeah?!"

Yusuke smirked, "Yep."

That's when Akane screamed in rage and Yusuke could actually see her aura of spirit energy. Even an average person could've seen it. It was a bright red and almost surrounded Akane like fire.

'Well... she looks angry. Maybe this will get interesting,' Yusuke mentally noted.

However, when Akane charged him this time, he noticed something else. Obviously, there was a whole lot more spirit energy behind her attacks, but because she was angry, her fighting was sloppier. Yusuke grabbed her arm when she tried to dodge a punch. He pulled her into the punch. This caused extra damage because Akane lost her footing and sprained her ankle.

Then, Yusuke broke her arm. Akane fell down on the floor and Yusuke ceased hurting her. He waited to see if she was going to get up, but he could already see that the aura she had before was fading away. Akane's vision started to blur slightly.

"Give up?" Yusuke questioned.

His voice wasn't teasing anymore. Akane nodded her head, feeling sore everywhere and her arm was causing her quite a bit of pain. She sighed, "Yeah. You're... really strong."

"You got that right," Yusuke boasted.

He helped Akane get up, "You can walk, right?"

"Yeah. I think I can. My ankle hurts, but it doesn't feel broken," Akane told him.

"Good. Well, where can you find medical attention around here? I'm no doctor, so I'm not going to be messing with that broken arm of yours," Yusuke stated.

"Dr. Tofu can probably fix it," Akane said as she winced from her injuries.

Yusuke rose an eyebrow, "Dr. Tofu?"

"Yeah," Akane replied.

She started walking out of the dojo and towards Dr. Tofu's office. She was hurt, but for some reason, she felt satisfied.

'He actually hit me. Maybe now I'll be able to train properly. I'm going to have to ask him to fight me again so I can get stronger,' she thought.

She noticed that Yusuke was walking along beside her. She looked at him questioningly, "Why are you following me?"

"Well, you know, seeing as to how I'm going to be living with you, and being my older sister, I figured I might as well get to know you," Yusuke mumbled.

Akane smiled, "Really?"

Yusuke laughed, "Nope!"

Akane sweatdropped and wondered why he bothered to say that in the first place if he was just going to laugh and say he didn't mean it. She mentally shrugged it off. Then, she saw that after Yusuke had laughed, he started frowning.

"It wouldn't hurt you to smile, you know," Akane told him.

"Well, maybe I don't want to, right now, okay?" Yusuke grumbled.

"Talk about mood swings," Akane muttered.

"I heard that," Yusuke announced.

Akane stuck her tongue out at him in a childish manner, "So?"

Yusuke growled a bit and put his hands in his pockets. At last, they reached their destination.

"Here we are," Akane declared.

"Doesn't look like much," Yusuke stated.

"Well, you can't judge a book by its cover. Dr. Tofu is a great doctor," Akane said.

Yusuke just shrugged and went inside with her. Akane looked around and called for Dr. Tofu.

"Hang on a moment. I'll be right with you!" Dr. Tofu called.

After a few minutes, Dr. Tofu appeared in the waiting room area. He blinked, looking a little shocked at Akane's appearance. Her clothes were a bit of a mess with a few rips and tears. Then, she also had a huge bruise near her chin. There was certainly many more bruises than that, not to mention her broken arm, but that at the moment was what could be seen at first glance.

"Come right in, Akane. What happened?" Dr. Tofu questioned as Yusuke and Akane walked into the next room.

Akane sat down on one of the medical beds, "I was fighting."

Dr. Tofu nodded for a moment as he began to examine her injuries, "Ahh, I see. Who did you get in a fight with?"

"My little brother," Akane answered.

Dr. Tofu got out some bandages and a few other medical supplies, "Little brother? I wasn't aware..."

"Its okay, Dr. Tofu. Its a new discovery for me, too. He's actually my half-brother, but... umm... he's right behind you," Akane told him.

Dr. Tofu turned away from Akane and saw Yusuke. He turned back around to tend to Akane's bruises and scrapes, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you over there. I'm Dr. Tofu."

"Yeah, I figured as much. Name's Yusuke Urameshi," Yusuke said, crossing his arms and sitting down on a chair.

Dr. Tofu started to touch Akane's broken arm. Akane made a small noise of pain and grimaced.

"Ahh, that doesn't look very good. Its broken likely," Dr. Tofu noted.

"It IS broken. I know. I'm the one who broke it, remember?" Yusuke pointed out.

Dr. Tofu shook his head and leaned over Akane a little bit, "A bit on the rough side, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he's really not that bad of a guy. I think its all an act really," Akane whispered.

"Yeah! That's right! Go on whispering! I'm just not here, you know," Yusuke griped.

"Oh, don't be so whiny, Yusuke," Akane giggled.

"Whiny? You did not just call me...," Yusuke started.

Akane grinned, "Whiny, whiny, whiny."

Yusuke looked annoyed for a moment, "You want me to break your other arm, too?"

"Like you would," Akane dared.

"Don't tempt me," Yusuke warned.

"Ooo, I'm so scared," Akane laughed.

Yusuke grumbled under his breath. Dr. Tofu tried to block out the conversation as he worked on Akane's arm. It was just too weird for him. Suddenly, the sound of someone vomiting broke through the room.

"Ugh! Dr. Tofu... I'm still not feeling very... MMMGPH! Blllaaaach," a voice from another room shouted.

Akane blinked, "Is that..."

Dr. Tofu finished with Akane's arm, "Your fiance? Yes. Hold on a moment, Akane. Coming, Ranma!"

Dr. Tofu walked to another room and Yusuke blinked rapidly.

'Fiance? Isn't she a little young to be having a fiance?' he wondered.

The annoyed expression crossed Yusuke's face again.

'Oh, what do I care, anyway?' he thought.

"Its a long story," Akane muttered.

Yusuke looked over to her, "What?"

"The whole fiance thing. Long story," Akane said simply.

She was looking a bit angry again. Yusuke shrugged, "Yeah, okay. Whatever."

Back at Yusuke's previous home city, no one noticed that Yusuke and his mother had even left. The beings of Spirit World hadn't noticed that they had moved to another location. Though, this was no surprise seeing as to how Spirit World was always a busy place. Hiei hadn't noticed Yusuke had left, either. He was training and while he did feel that something was missing from the city, he didn't really care enough to pay attention to it.

Kurama hadn't noticed, either. Though, he did live elsewhere and at any rate, he was much too busy helping his mother out around the house. With that, it may come as a surprise that the first one to notice that Yusuke had left the city was none other than Kazuma Kuwabara. As it just so happened that day, Kuwabara and Yusuke had scheduled a sparring match. While Yusuke tended to slack when it came to training (unless Genkai was around, of course), Kuwabara was always hard at work at it.

He was confident that he had improved his fighting technique since the last time he had to fight. This time, he thought he just might be strong enough to beat Yusuke. If he wasn't, Kuwabara would just get back to training again. So, Kuwabara was more than a bit irritated that Yusuke wasn't at home. He also thought it was odd that his mother wasn't home, either.

'Where could Urameshi be? He knows we were supposed to be fighting today,' Kuwabara thought.

In truth, because of all that was happening to him, Yusuke had totally forgotten about the fight. In any case, Kuwabara began his search for Yusuke, starting with Yusuke's usual hangouts. He searched the movie theater...

No Yusuke.

He wandered through the arcade...

No Yusuke.

He went past all the street corners...

Still no Yusuke.

Kuwabara scratched his head as he tried to think of other places Yusuke might be. Then, he snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. He rushed over to Kayko's home and just about collided into her. Luckily, he had stopped himself just in time.

"Hey, Kayko!" Kuwabara greeted.

Kayko looked up at him, "Oh, hi, Kuwabara. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Hey, look, have you seen Urameshi around anywhere?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yusuke? No, I haven't. Why?" Kayko responded.

"Well, I've looked everywhere for him! Its like he just disappeared or something!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Disappeared? I don't think so. He has to be around here somewhere," Kayko said.

"Unless he went on a mission and didn't tell me," Kuwabara mumbled, angry at the thought.

Kayko looked angry when he mentioned that, too, "Well, he didn't say anything to me, so he just better not have if he knows what's good for him."

"Yeah," Kuwabara agreed.

"Have you tried asking around to see if anybody's seen him?" Kayko inquired.

"Umm... Well, I'm starting to. I asked you, didn't I?" Kuwabara replied.

"Right. I'll help you look for him," Kayko declared.

"Thanks," Kuwabara told her.

"You're welcome," Kayko said back.

Thus, they went their separate ways in search of Yusuke. Kuwabara asked anybody and everybody if they had seen Yusuke. They all told him that they hadn't, but one little kid, overhearing Kuwabara ask an elderly person, did have a hint as to where Yusuke went.

"Mister, mister! Wait up!" the little boy shouted to Kuwabara.

Kuwabara looked around and then spotted the little boy running towards him. He stopped and walked over to the kid, "Hmm? What do you want, kid?"

"You said you were looking for Urameshi. You mean, Yusuke Urameshi?" the little boy asked.

Kuwabara blinked in surprise, "You know him?"

"You bet I do! He saved me from a car! And he's funny, too. He's my hero! You're looking for him, right?" the little boy said.

'Yusuke is this kid's hero? Gee, who would've thought Yusuke had his own little fan,' Kuwabara thought, sweatdropping.

He quickly turned his attention back to the boy, "Yeah. I'm looking for him. Do you know where he's at?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but I did see his mommy last night while my mommy was taking me to the movies. She wasn't going to the movies, but she was acting pretty funny. I heard her say that she was going to find Yusuke's daddy and she also said she was going to use some money she got to buy... Well, I'm not sure what she said she was going to buy, but it sounded like she was going to buy some shakes or something," the little boy babbled.

Kuwabara sweatdropped again when the boy mentioned Yusuke's mother was going to buy 'shakes'.

"And this morning... I was in the park. I saw Yusuke's mommy and Yusuke in a car. They were like moving faster than a race car! And the car almost hit a tree!" the little boy finished.

"Hmm. Well, thanks for the help, little kid," Kuwabara told him.

"You're welcome, mister! Hope you find him!" the little boy exclaimed.

Kuwabara walked away, thinking on what the little boy had told him.

'Huh, what could this mean? Yusuke's mom hardly ever drives anywhere. Maybe they went out of town? Hmmm,' he thought.

Kuwabara walked back to his house. He was deep in his thoughts, trying to figure out what it all meant. When he got to his house, he was greeted by his very angry sister. Kuwabara blinked.

"Kazuma, where have you been?" Shizuru asked.

"Uhhh... Looking for Yusuke?" Kuwabara answered truthfully.

"That's no excuse, you lazy bum! You forgot to wash the dishes! Get your butt in here!" Shizuru yelled.

She grabbed him by his ear and dragged him inside. She practically threw him at the sink and Kuwabara began to wash the dishes obediently, muttering a few obscenties under his breath. Occasionally, he would rub his ear which was sore from Shizuru grabbing it. He grumbled, "Must be that time of the month again."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Shizuru shouted.

Kuwabara laughed nervously, "Nothing dear sister of mine!"

He muttered a few more obscenties as he did the dishes. Finally, he finished washing and drying the dishes. His sister suddenly came in the kitchen holding the phone.

"Hey, Kazuma. Phone," she said, handing him the phone.

Kuwabara dried his hands and held the phone up to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hello, Kuwabara. Have you found Yusuke, yet?" Kayko asked.

"No, I haven't, but I did get some information. Someone told me that Urameshi and his mom were driving somewhere this morning," Kuwabara replied.

"Hmm. That's odd," Kayko murmured.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, I gotta go. I'm going to try looking for Urameshi out of town. Wish me luck," Kuwabara announced.

"Good luck," Kayko said.

"Thanks. See you," Kuwabara said before hanging up the phone.

Kuwabara sat down on the floor Indian-style. He took in a deep breath and tried to clear his head. Shizuru came into the room again. This time she was looking as angry as she did before. She snapped at him, "What are you doing, Kazuma?"

"Shh. I'm concentrating. I'm trying to find Urameshi's spirit energy signature. If I can do that, maybe I can find Urameshi," Kuwabara told her.

"Yeah? Well, guess what, Kazuma? You didn't make your bed, this morning!" Shizuru growled.

Kuwabara cringed, "Ooops."

"Ooops, is right! Go and make it. Now," Shizuru ordered.

"Okay, okay," Kuwabara grumbled.

'Sheesh. She acts like I never do anything around here,' he thought.

He finished making his bed and sat in his room in the same way he was sitting before.

'Now, I just have to focus,' he thought.

Kuwabara cleared his mind of thought again and began to concentrate his own spirit energy and his senses in finding Yusuke's energy signature. He wasn't sure if he could actually find Yusuke this way, but it was worth a shot.


	3. The Feeding and the Energy Seeking

Dr. Tofu, with Ranma following just behind, came back into the medical room. Ranma did not look like he was feeling very well at all. His complexion was very pale, he was clutching his stomach, and it looked as though walking was a great task for him. He sat down in a chair uneasily. An expression of concern appeared on Akane's face, "Wow, Ranma. You don't look so good. What happened to you?"

"I don't know, Akane. I just don't know. One moment I was at the Cat Café, minding my own business. Just wanting something to eat. Then, Mousse serves me this dish of ramen and boy, it tasted delicious...," Ranma started.

Akane stared at Ranma, "You ate something Mousse gave you?"

"Hey! It looked okay, smelled great, and tasted like the best thing I've ever eaten before. I figured it was safe since Mousse was serving it in front of everybody else. I didn't start feeling bad until I was a few roads down from the restaurant," Ranma explained.

He suddenly looked very sick, "Excuse me."

Ranma ran out of the medical room, heading straight for the bathroom. Again, the sounds of vomiting were heard. Dr. Tofu shook his head, "Well, something he ate contained a poison, anyway. Its not a lethal poison, but the poison he took is poisonous enough to keep him weak and sick for a few months, at least. Its not incurable, but he downright refuses to swallow down the cure."

Yusuke looked on, not in the least bit interested.

"That idiot. Why won't he take the cure?" Akane growled.

"Well, it's probably the worst tasting thing in the world. It doesn't look so good and it smells pretty bad, too," Dr. Tofu said.

Akane sweatdropped, "It can't be that bad."

"Oh, it is. But it works miracles as an antidote for certain poisons like the one Ranma has in his system," Dr. Tofu assured.

Ranma came back in the medical room and sat down, "Uggghhhh..."

"Ranma, you dummy! Why don't you take the cure?" Akane demanded.

"Oh, Akane! You don't understand! That stuff smells horrible! I'm willing to bet it tastes horrible, too. There's no way I'm eating it. No way!" Ranma exclaimed.

He spotted Yusuke and blinked. He turned to Akane and pointed at him, "Who is that, Akane?"

Akane started to say something. Yusuke interrupted her, "My name is Yusuke Urameshi. And if you don't quit pointing at me, I'm going to break your finger."

Ranma was taken aback, but he recovered from the little introduction and glared at Yusuke, "What's your problem?"

"None of your business," Yusuke scowled.

Ranma narrowed his eyes and for the first time, noticed Akane's injuries. He immediately jumped to conclusions, "You hurt Akane..."

Yusuke shrugged nonchalantly, "I did."

"Nobody hurts Akane and gets away with it!" Ranma growled.

He started to charge at Yusuke. Yusuke was smirking. Akane was already making a move to slap Ranma upside the head. However, none of them fulfilled their actions because Dr. Tofu stepped in. He did not look happy, "I don't want any fighting in my clinic."

Ranma and Akane looked a bit surprised, but they immediately stopped what they were doing. Yusuke shrugged his shoulders and sat down. Ranma was still glaring at him.

"Don't be stupid, Ranma. Yusuke and I were just having a sparring match. Unlike you, he isn't afraid to hit girls," Akane told him.

"So, what? Is he some new boyfriend, now?" Ranma grumbled.

Yusuke was the one glaring at Ranma, now. There was someone he already cared about in that way and it definitely wasn't his half-sister. Akane shook her head, "You, idiot! He's my younger half-brother!"

Ranma blinked, "Younger... half-brother?"

"Yes. The DNA results prove it. My dad is his dad. You better get used to him, Ranma. You're going to be sharing a room with him," Akane informed.

"Wh-what? Share a room with him? But... the room is so small! Akane, look at my old man! He practically takes up the entire room himself!" Ranma spluttered.

"There is plenty of room, Ranma. Quit being a baby. And take that cure! You're starting to look green!" Akane scolded.

Yusuke glanced at them back and forth as they argued. He thought to himself, 'Well, no wonder they're fiances. They already act like a married couple. Sheesh.'

"Ugh... Why'd you have to...," Ranma started, but was unable to finish.

He ran off to the bathroom. Dr. Tofu sighed, "Well, if he's not going to take the cure; he might as well go home. There isn't much I can do for him except hit a couple of pressure points that will help ease the sickness some for a little bit of time."

"Don't give up, Dr. Tofu! I'm going to make him take that cure. Where is it?" Akane declared.

"It's in the kitchen. Follow me," Dr. Tofu said.

Akane and Yusuke followed Dr. Tofu into the kitchen. He put on some noseplugs and handed some to Akane and Yusuke. Yusuke stared at the noseplugs in his hand. Akane looked at Dr. Tofu with a puzzled expression, "What are these for?"

"Just being considerate. I wasn't joking when I said that the cure smells really, really bad," Dr. Tofu laughed.

"It can't be that bad," Akane insisted.

"We'll see," Dr. Tofu stated.

He went to the stove and removed the lid on a blue pot. There was a faint smell spreading through the air like a disease. Akane felt like gagging and while Yusuke tried not to let it phase him, he could feel his stomach lurch. They both put on the noseplugs.

"And that was with the plastic wrapping," Dr. Tofu told them.

"Gee," Akane awed.

"How in the world is that suppose to make someone feel better?" Yusuke grumbled.

"Well, I wouldn't recommend eating this unless you had been poisoned by one of the five poisons that this soup cures. Don't worry, it's proven to cure the poisons. Once Ranma eats this, he'll be feeling like his old self again," Dr. Tofu explained.

'Uh-huh. Whatever you say, doc,' Yusuke thought.

Ranma stumbled into the kitchen, "Man, I was wondering where you guys went."

"Time to take your medicine, Ranma!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma's eyes widened, "N-no! Never!"

Dr. Tofu handed Akane a spoon and the pot, which was warm, but not hot. Ranma started to take off running, but bumped into Yusuke who was blocking one of the exits out of the kitchen. He glared at Ranma and pushed him to Akane. Akane quickly moved Ranma to a chair and began spoon-feeding him. Ranma's eyes teared up as he accidentally swallowed some of the soup, "Gugh... bleh... bluh..."

It was no trial to keep him sitting there. Ranma was too much in shock from the foul taste of the soup. Akane continued to force feed him, "It's for your own good, Ranma."

"Guuggghhh," was all Ranma could say.

Yusuke couldn't help himself. He started laughing uncontrollably. He would've added some insults, but he was too busy laughing at Ranma to make a good one. Ranma slumped in the chair with his mouth hanging open. Akane blinked and stopped feeding him, "Uh... Dr. Tofu..."

Dr. Tofu smiled, "Don't worry, Akane. One of the side-effects of taking the cure is being knocked out after ingesting it. He'll come to in an hour or so."

"And then he'll be better, right?" Akane asked.

"As good as new," Dr. Tofu reassured her.

"Well, what do we do with him until, then?" Akane wondered.

"Well, he could stay here with me, but I think it'd be best if you took him home," Dr. Tofu responded.

Truthfully, he didn't want Ranma really staying in his clinic where one of his "enemies" or "fiances" would burst in, do some damage, and then make off with his unconscious patient. Of course, Ranma was always welcomed to hang around, but while he was unconscious, Dr. Tofu just wasn't sure it was such a good idea.

"Well, guess we'll take him home, then," Akane said.

She got a glass out of the cabinet and turned to Dr. Tofu, "You don't mind if I get a glass of water?"

"Don't be silly. Of course, I don't mind," Dr. Tofu laughed, and walked out of the room to attend to other things.

She turned on the cold water and walked over to Ranma. Yusuke looked at Akane curiously, "What are you going to do with that? I don't think he's going to wake up if you splash him. I could carry him..."

He didn't really like the idea of carrying another guy, but he didn't see how else they would get Ranma home otherwise if Akane couldn't carry him.

"Oh. I can carry him. I just don't want to ruin his 'macho reputation'," Akane grumbled.

Yusuke blinked, "What do you mean?"

Akane shrugged, "Well, since you're going to be living with us from now on, there's no avoiding it. You would have found out sooner or later, so why not make it sooner than later?"

"I have no idea what you're..." Yusuke started, but then Akane splashed Ranma with the glass of cold water.

Yusuke took a step back in surprise. Ranma, who he could've sworn had been a guy earlier, was a... a...

Girl.

Yusuke's eyes widened as he stared at Ranma, "What... When... What's going on? Guys don't just turn into girls when they get wet!!!"

"Ranma does. I'll tell you the whole story on the way home," Akane told him.

She picked up the girl-type Ranma and Yusuke followed her as he listened to the peculiar story of Ranma's curse...

Meanwhile, in Yusuke's home city, Kuwabara had not moved from the spot he was sitting on in his house. Shizuru had tried several times earlier when it was lunch time to get him to eat, but Kuwabara hadn't even so much as looked at her. This was unusual behavior because Kuwabara wasn't one to just skip out on lunch. Shizuru tried another approach, her usual approach, "All right, Kazuma. I'm tired of playing Miss Nice Girl. Either you get your butt up off the floor and eat your lunch right now or I'm going to beat you into the ground!"

Kuwabara didn't budge. Shizuru's fists clenched and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "KAZUMA! LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU! Rrrrrrr!"

Kuwabara didn't even cringe. Shizuru growled, "Fine, then! I warned you!"

She started to punch him, but something blocked her attack and shocked her just enough to make her pull her fist away. She looked at her hand and found that it was unsinged, to her relief. Then, she looked at Kuwabara closely and could see a very faint and weak barrier that surrounded him. The barrier was starting to fade. Shizuru experimentally punched it again and the barrier went back up around him to its original intensity (though, a weak intensity).

She saw that Kuwabara's face was that of someone who was concentrating very hard. When she had punched the barrier, she could see that the concentrated look on his face only became more concentrated.

'This is strange,' she thought.

Shizuru knew about every one of Kuwabara's fighting styles, techniques, and abilities. She had never once seen Kuwabara practice putting up a barrier around himself and she knew for a fact that barriers, even weak ones, were difficult to put up, especially for someone who really didn't know how to make one in the first place. Yet, here her brother was, with a small barrier shooting up to protect him while he was...

'He's meditating. I wonder why?' she thought.

Then, she remembered what he had said earlier when she had demanded that he make his bed, which he was always forgetting to make. He had said that he was trying to find Yusuke's spirit energy signature. Shizuru began to smile as she opened her senses some more and found that Kuwabara's spirit senses were reaching far out, way past the point she could sense.

'Maybe now, he'll be able to reach the full extent of his powers,' Shizuru thought.

She walked out of the room, having decided to leave her brother alone.

---

---

(Author's Note: I am incredibly sorry, readers. Those of you who have stuck around and have read the old chapter two, may have noticed that I put Kuwabara's sister's name down as Suzuke. I didn't realize my mistake until a friend of mine read this fanfiction and pointed out that her name was Shizuru. I do, in fact, watch Yu Yu Hakusho, but because of earlier family problems and now, reruns, I must've forgotten that her name was Shizuru and not Suzuke. I hope you all forgive the mistake and I promise to be more alert next time.)


	4. Something in the Air

Kayko sighed unhappily in her bedroom as she looked down at Puu, "I wonder where Yusuke is?"

Puu looked up at Kayko, "Puu?"

Kayko smiled slightly, "Well, you seem happy. Yusuke mustn't be in any danger, then, at least. Still, I wish I could go see him."

She looked at her phone for a moment and then picked it up. She dialed Kuwabara's number, "Hello? Oh, its you, Shizuru. Sorry. Has Kuwabara made any progress in finding Yusuke yet? Oh... Well, all right. Thank you for your time. Bye."

Kayko sighed again. Puu made a silly little attempt at a hug, "Puu! Puu!"

She patted the little spirit beast on the head.

A week had passed since that fateful day Yusuke and his mother had arrived at the Tendo Dojo. Since then, Ranma had obviously been cured from his poisoning and everything was back to normal... if anyone could call Ranma's life normal. The first three days had been a constant surprise for Yusuke. In those three measely days, he had learned many things about the new place in which he lived. He had learned of Amazons, of more curses, of an oknamiyaki chef, of Genma Saotome's cowardice, of fights between Ranma's fiances and fights between Ranma and his half-sister, Akane, of Nabiki's money-making schemes, of Ranma's adventures in finding a cure for his curse, and of two crazy siblings and their equally crazy father who happened to be principal of the school he was being forced to attend.

Of course, sometimes, he was able to come up with some sort of sneaky plan that would allow him to skip school, but most times he was dragged out of bed by... Akane Tendo. She wasn't as bad as Kayko in the sense that Akane didn't nag. The real problem was that she was a whole lot more physical than Kayko and it was really hard to sleep when someone was dragging you across the floor. Not to mention practically throwing you at the dining table. As if school wasn't trouble enough, he had also been made to get a job by his other half-sister, Nabiki. He was really beginning to get irritated with her cool, "strictly business" attitude.

Yusuke's job was as a janitor for a big department store. Cleaning up people's trash was not his idea of fun, but he really didn't have much choice. Almost all of his earnings went to Nabiki, which made the job even more displeasing. He found that there were a couple of things good about the job, though. First, it kept him away from the Tendo Dojo and surrounding areas, which meant he didn't have to deal with Mousse without his glasses on or have any of Ranma's fiances bug him about where Ranma was at that current point and time. Another good thing was that when no one was around he could shoot at the trash with his spirit gun, which was actually mildly entertaining.

Yusuke was getting along pretty well with Akane and it was hard not to like Kasumi because of her motherly-like ways; something that he really didn't have much experience with since his own mother only acted motherly on a few occasions. As previously mentioned, Yusuke was often irritated by Nabiki and everytime she said something to him, he was sure to grumble. He wasn't particularly warming up to Soun since he wasn't used to having a father. Soun, who wasn't used to having a son, often slipped away to his room for some quiet time to ponder how to go about father-son bonding. He never was able to come up with anything and didn't want to risk making his new found son angry with him.

Yusuke and Ranma just didn't get along very well. They would often take a moment to glare at each other when they were in the same room together. This happened several times considering that they shared the guest room. The two boys never said a word to one another, spending most of their time ignoring the other. Akane wasn't very certain on why they were this way, perhaps; it was because they got off to a rough start. She also reasoned, when she was angry, that it was probably because Ranma was a pompous jerk. Yusuke paid absolutely no attention to Ranma's father, either. This was fine with Genma since his being the center of attention usually meant trouble for him.

As mentioned, Yusuke wasn't too keen about Ranma's fiances, either. He supposed the Ukyou girl was kind of nice, but he wasn't the sort to get to know 'nice' people. The fiance he found most annoying, though, was Shampoo. Everything about her seemed to irritate him, her voice, her accent, and most especially the fact that Shampoo was incapable of entering a place without smashing down the walls. Shampoo's great grandmother, Cologne also not only irritated him, but gave him the creeps. On occasion, the shriveled up prune would give him an odd glance or so.

'What is it with old ladies and their stupid looks, anyway?' Yusuke wondered.

He found himself missing Kayko and even Kuwabara. Heck, he was even beginning to miss his old school where strange, crazy principals that had obsessions with cutting hair didn't exist. Little did Yusuke know, though; that the week was only the tip of the iceberg. After all, there was still the lost boy, the missing in action pervert... And what of the folks up in Spirit World?

Somewhere in a dense forest...

"I know Tokyo is here somewhere!" Ryouga panted.

He sat down to take a break and he crossed his arms, "I could've sworn it was Ranma that had thrown these suitcases at me..."

He looked at the three suitcases with a frown. He had checked to see what was in the cases and it had turned out they were all full of sake.

'Has Ranma become an alcoholic, now?' Ryouga wondered.

He sighed and began to worry about Akane. If Ranma truly had become an alcoholic, could it be possible that in his drunken state, he might've hurt Akane?

'I'll kill him! That's it! He won't get away with hurting Akane! I won't let him!' he thought.

He stood and shoved everything, including the suitcases, back into his huge pack. He started running, mentally cursing Ranma for hurting Akane. Once again, he was confusing his daydreams with reality. That is until he nearly ran off a cliff. He stopped just in time, 'Whoa, that was a close one...'

He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down.

"I don't think I've ever been this high up before... Guess it's a dead end. Maybe Tokyo was the other way," Ryouga muttered out loud.

He started to turn, but then he felt like someone's hands had pushed on him. He thought it was kind of funny at the time because he hadn't seen anyone for miles. But then, Ryouga lost his footing and his eyes widened as he started to fall. He reached for his umbrella, hoping to slow his fall, but he found that he must've forgotten to get it before he left. The weight of his pack was also causing him to fall at a rapid pace and as he hit several rocks that jutted out from the cliff and as he began to slam into many evergreen trees; he wondered how badly he was going to hurt when he reached the bottom.

This was a mindless thought on Ryouga's part. Because he was already beginning to feel an extreme amount of pain more than he had ever actually felt before. As one could imagine, this was saying a lot. Afterall, Ryouga had, at one time, allowed several boulders to slam into him. At last, Ryouga slammed into the ground, relieved to have stopped falling. It was unfortunate for him that he landed on the front side of his body, which meant that the impact of his fall hit him harder because of the weight on his back. He coughed up some kind of dark red liquid on the ground and he stared at it for a moment.

'Blood... I must've really hurt something... I better get up and...' he thought.

It was also unfortunate for him that he hadn't forgotten to get his umbrella, but he had actually let it carelessly hang on his pack. The umbrella was released from the pack during the fall, gravity pulled down on it, and it slammed onto the back of Ryouga's neck. He thought no more as he lost all of his senses and blacked out...

'Hey, wow... I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. I don't feel a thing,' Ryouga thought when he was aware that he could think again.

He opened his eyes and stared up at the sky. He was smiling an odd little smile, 'Heh... With a fall like that I've probably become much tougher! I'll be unstoppable!'

He felt unusually confident in himself, 'And maybe after I've beaten Ranma, I'll tell Akane that I... I...'

His spirits sank again, "Oh, who am I kid-..."

He blinked when he had looked down. He could see his feet, of course... but... Why could he see the tops of the trees if he was supposed to be on the ground? Then, a wave of shock hit him.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I DOING ALL THE WAY UP HERE?" he shouted.

He began to hypervenhillate a little bit, but then he realized that he wasn't actually breathing. He looked at his hands... See through. His body was completely transparent. Ryouga couldn't understand, 'What is going on? What has happened to me?'

He floated around in the sky a little bit, his mind numb from his shock of being up in the sky in the first place. He examined the ground below and found something even more shocking.

'H-how... If I'm up here... What... w-what am I doing down there?' Ryouga wondered.

He was seriously becoming frightened, 'What if... what if I'm...'

"Hello!" a cheery female voice greeted.

Ryouga jumped and whirred around looking for who had spoken to him. His eyes finally landed on a blue-haired girl wearing a pink kimino and riding a... boat oar? He gaped at her, "W-who are you?"

"My name is Botan! Though, you'd probably know me better as the Grim Reaper. But really, I prefer being called Botan," Botan laughed.

"... The Grim Reaper?" Ryouga repeated.

The young woman before him certainly did not look like any sort of reaper, nor was she very grim, either. Botan waved her hand in front of him, "And you're Ryouga Hibiki, right?"

Ryouga nodded dumbly, "Uh... uh-huh..."

"Right. Good. And... you know that you're dead, right?" Botan asked carefully.

Ryouga looked as though he were about to nod again before his eyes bugged out of his head, "WHAT? I'm dead? I... I can't be dead!"

'Oh dear, I hope its not another one of those denial cases,' Botan thought.

She smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder, "Yes. I'm afraid so... But..."

"But I can't be dead! I shouldn't be! That fall was..." Ryouga began.

"Fatal. Actually, I'm surprised you survived as long as you did. The average human would've surely died before the impact with the ground," Botan told him.

Ryouga ignored the comment about the average human part, "I'm dead. I can't believe it. How could this happen to me? There was still so much I needed to do... Like..."

He thought of Akane and sighed, "Maybe I'm better off dead... I probably would've only gotten my heart broken, anyway... Oh, Ak..."

"Hey, hey, now! Don't think like that!" Botan exclaimed.

Ryouga blinked, "Huh? You're still here?"

"Well, of course I am, silly! It's my job to bring you to Spirit World, but..." Botan replied.

Ryouga cut her off, "Well, whatever, then. Go ahead..."

He looked rather miserable and his out of proportion daydreams weren't helping at all. Botan sweatdropped, "You haven't let me finish. Ordinarily, I'd just take you to Spirit World, where your spirit would be judged and you'd be put in a place you belong. But, the circumstances of your death are... really unusual."

"Huh? Unusual? What do you mean?" Ryouga questioned.

"Well, for starters, your death really caught us off guard. You weren't suppose to die, today. You still had a long way to go," Botan answered.

A puzzled expression crossed Ryouga's face, "Well, if I wasn't suppose to die, today... then... Why am I dead?"

"Well, Spirit World Intelligence isn't exactly sure. But it seems, that someone... or something... had caused your death. Someone or something that wasn't suppose to be there, at all... Unfortunately, that's all they know. Unless some new information springs up, the spirit detective won't be sent out to do anything about it," Botan explained.

"So, you mean... I'm just stuck, then. I'm dead for no good reason at all?" Ryouga wondered.

He growled suddenly and clenched his fists, "I have a horrible life!"

"Well, technically, you mean your afterlife," Botan giggled.

"Don't mock me! I'm dead! Why in the world are you laughing at me?" Ryouga shouted.

"Oh, don't get mad. I was just trying to lighten your mood, honest," Botan reassured him.

Ryouga sighed, "I don't think anything could lighten my mood."

"Oh? Well, I guess if you're so set on that, you wouldn't be interested in hearing about the possibility of a second chance," Botan whistled.

"That's r... Second chance?" Ryouga perked up a little bit.

"Yes. You have the opportunity to be brought back to life. This opportunity is very rare. Though, I suppose if I told you the last time we allowed someone this opportunity you probably wouldn't think so. Of course, he was an extra special case," Botan babbled.

"Uh... right. Well, what do I have to do?" Ryouga urged.

Botan looked really happy all of a sudden, "Oh? You mean, you're not having any second thoughts about being brought back to life?"

"Well...," Ryouga started.

Botan frowned, 'Why do they always have second thoughts?'

Ryouga waved his arms at seeing her frown, "N-no! I don't have any second thoughts!"

'She said it was a rare opportunity. I better take it,' he thought.

Botan went back to smiling again, "Well, that's good news! We better get going..."

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah! Wait... where are we going again?"

"To Spirit World. You have to be given your ordeal," Botan told him.

"Oh, right," Ryouga replied.

He looked back at his body and his shoulders slumped. It might be a while before he'd be back in it. Then, he blinked a few times, "Uhh, Botan? What about my body? I don't need it anymore, right?"

"What? Don't be silly. You're body needs to remain in good condition, so that you can be brought back to life. If it were to be burned, torn to shreds, incinerated, or cut into pieces... Well, it wouldn't be a very good thing, I assure you," Botan answered.

Ryouga's eyes widened and he looked back at his body, "We have to do something!"

"Huh? What's the matter?" Botan queried.

Ryouga pointed wildly at the location of his body. Wild animals were starting to surround the area. Botan looked wide-eyed herself, "Oh no! That's not good!"

Ryouga was already speeding down and tried to keep the animals away. Of course, nothing he did had any effect. Botan hurried down towards him, "You can't do anything. You're a spirit, remember?"

"But what am I going to do? My body is going to be eaten!" Ryouga cried.

"Now, now. Don't panic. Maybe I can...," Botan started.

Suddenly, peculiar sounds engulfed the area. The forest seemed dead silent except for the odd noise of fast feet parading through the trees. Ryouga and Botan looked up to see a blob-like blur move in, chase off the animals, and then come to a stand still. It was a little old man. Unfortunately, Ryouga recongized this little old man.

'He's... that...,' Ryouga's thoughts plummeted to negativity.

The man was Happosai, the notorious Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts. He was perverted to the core. In fact, the very sack he was carrying contained various lady unmentionables. Botan was unaware of that and of Ryouga's despair, "Wow! That was close. Ryouga that old man saved your body! You should be..."

"I'm doomed! Doomed," Ryouga moaned.

Botan gave him an odd glance, "What do you mean?"

Happosai looked around and spotted Ryouga's body. He walked over to him and kicked him lightly, "Hey, kid. Wake up. Don't you know how stupid it is to just lie there with all these crazy wild animals running around?"

Ryouga's body, of course, did not respond. Happosai poked the body with his pipe, "Hello, anyone in there?"

Ryouga watched the old man continued to prod his body and he whimpered slightly, "Someone in Spirit World hates me..."

"Nonsense! Come on, I'm sure your body is in good hands, now," Botan insisted.

"No! It's not! We can't leave!" Ryouga shrieked.

"Calm down... I don't see what the fuss is," Botan told him.

Happosai thought for a moment, "Hmm... Maybe he got knocked out. Better make sure he's okay... After all, I am a kind, simple old man..."

Botan smiled, "See, Ryouga?"

"He's lying! He's a bigger liar than Saotome!" Ryouga growled.

"But why would he lie to himself?" Botan countered.

"Because... because... Well, I don't know!" Ryouga responded.

Botan giggled, "Am I going to have to drag you to Spirit World?"

Ryouga's shoulders slumped as he watched Happosai try to find a pulse. Happosai's face suddenly turned an unusual color, "Wah... He's dead!"

He bowed his head, "Poor young boy. His life cut so short."

He shook his head, 'Hmm. I've seen this boy hanging around Akane. She probably would be crushed if I just took his body to her. Hey, wait a minute! Isn't he cursed, too?'

He pulled out a bottle of water from one of his pockets and squirted Ryouga's body with it. Ryouga cursed under his breath, "He has no respect for the dead! I don't want to be caught dead as a pig!"

Botan blinked in surprise, "Wow... Oh wait! I remember, now! You're cursed, aren't you?"

Before Ryouga could answer such an obvious question, Happosai picked the dead little black pig up and carelessly through it into his bag of lady undergarments.

"Poor Akane will be so sad to see her pet pig dead... She'll need to be comforted in her time of need! Of course, I'm just the one to comfort her! Eh heh heh heh heh!" he squealed in a manner that made him sound like a dying crow.

Ryouga growled to himself, 'If that pervert dare lays a hand on Akane... I'll... I'll...'

Staring down at the scene, Botan tried to figure out what just happened. She turned to Ryouga, "Was that a bag of women's underwear he just threw your body in?"

Ryouga groaned weakly, "Yes..."

Botan looked disturbed, "Perhaps you were right, afterall... But he said he was taking your body to some girl, right? I'm sure your body will be okay for a few moments. We really need to get to Spirit World, so you can get your ordeal. Koenma doesn't like to be kept waiting."

She also didn't like the idea of getting yelled at. Willingly, Ryouga allowed himself to be dragged off to Spirit World by Botan. That's when he began to worry.

'What if this Koenma guy decides I don't deserve a second chance?' he wondered.

Meanwhile, Happosai gathered up some of Ryouga's belongings, specifically the three suitcases since they had sake in them. Then, he bounded off again towards the Tendo Dojo. Genma and Soun were already beginning to feel his approach.

"Soun... There's an odd chill in the air," Genma remarked.

Soun nodded, "I noticed, Genma. Do you think it's him?"

Genma shuddered, "We knew he was going to come back, sometime..."

Soun nodded again, looking a bit frightened, "What do you think we should do?"

A loud splash was heard and Soun turned to look at his companion. Genma the panda stared back at him. Soun sweatdropped, "Saotome, you know that's not going to work."

The panda simply shrugged. Yusuke overheard the small conversation and couldn't help, but find it a bit odd. Overhearing the conversation as well was Ranma, who knew without a doubt who they were referring to. Ranma grumbled loudly to himself, "Everytime they talk like that... Every single time... It's like they have some kind of built-in radar that detects the old fart or something..."

Yusuke decided to go back to the guest room, 'I guess everyone around here is paranoid. I don't feel a thing. Odd chill in the air... Ha. What a laugh.'


	5. Death's Toll

Ryouga simply stood still. He was afraid to move because he was lost. Dead and lost to him, was not a good combination. There were so many ogres rushing around, carrying papers, answering phones, shouting, and pushing one another. Ryouga didn't know where he was or what he was going to do. Relief came to him in a sudden flood when he heard a familiar voice, "Well, there you are, Ryouga! You need to be more careful not to wander off like that."

Ryouga bowed his head, "Sorry. I... guess I lost you in the crowd."

Botan giggled, "Well, that's silly. I am the only one here that looks human."

"Yeah... umm... I'm really sorry about that," Ryouga mumbled.

He just hated it when he couldn't find his way around. Even dead, he was still the eternally lost boy. He suddenly felt Botan get a hold of his hand.

"Now, this time you won't possibly be able to lose me in this mess," Botan beamed.

Ryouga kept his mouth shut, but inside he was a inner dialogue chatterbox.

'She's holding my hand... A girl is holding my hand... I... I'm so shocked... Wait, what am I getting all excited for? She's just holding your hand so you won't get lost again. Guh... I'm such an idiot. What girl would ever want to hold my hand for... Akane would. She might. Someday... After I come back to life, of course. I think. I hope. Maybe,' he thought.

Finally, Botan lead him to some big double doors which opened up and let them inside. She let go of his hand. The room was practically empty save for a desk and a large stack of papers. Ryouga looked around confusedly, "Uhh... Botan? Where's... umm... what's his name again?"

Botan was about to answer him when a toddler suddenly peeked at him from behind the large stack of papers. The toddler began to speak, amazing Ryouga because he couldn't see how anyone could speak with a blue binkie in their mouth, "Koenma."

Ryouga looked confused, "What?"

The toddler got out of his chair and walked over to Ryouga, "My name is Koenma. I'm the person you're here to see."

"But... That can't be right. You're just a... a... kid!" Ryouga said.

Koenma looked annoyed, "Yes. You think I haven't noticed that? I'll have you know, though, that I am way older than you."

Botan looked at Koenma a bit nervously. It seemed Koenma was in a bad mood, possibly because of all the paperwork he had to do. Ryouga stared at him, speechless. Koenma rubbed his temples, "Right. Let's get on with this. Oh, and if you make one crack about diapers I'll..."

Ryouga shook his head wildly and waved his arms, "No, no! Not me! No way! I'm just... you know... surprised."

Koenma gave Ryouga an odd glance and then smiled a little bit, "Well, that's to be expected."

He turned to Botan, "We should make him spirit detective."

Botan sweatdropped, "Koenma, sir, you know you can't do that. We already have a spirit detective!"

"But, he isn't calling me a baby! Do you know how old that gets? You'd think Yusuke would show me a little more respect!" Koenma whined.

"Well, you know him, sir. Really, you can't just offer the job to anyone who doesn't mock you," Botan laughed.

"Yeah... well...," Koenma grumbled.

Ryouga coughed, "Umm..."

Koenma turned back to Ryouga, "Right. Your ordeal."

He reached into his pocket and held up a golden egg. Ryouga looked at it puzzedly, "What's that for?"

"This, Ryouga, is a spirit beast egg. It is going to feed on your positive and negative energy until it hatches. If you're inner self is good, and I suspect that it is, this spirit beast will hatch and guide your spirit back to your body and essentially make you live again. However, if your inner self is evil and wicked, the spirit beast that hatches will consume your spirit. If this happens, you will cease to exist. So, now that you know what the ordeal is and the consequence if you fail it, do you choose to accept it?" Koenma explained.

Ryouga let the information soak into his head. He was silent for a moment, thinking.

'Cease to exist? That sounds horrible... But wait, what do I have to worry about? I'm a good person. I know I am. Akane knows I am...,' he thought.

"I'll do it," Ryouga stated firmly.

"Good! Here you are. Take good care of that egg. If anything happens to it, you'll be in trouble," Koenma told him.

Ryouga took the egg, holding it carefully, 'Nothing is going to happen to this egg so long as I... err... hold it.'

Botan grabbed hold of Ryouga's free hand and led him out of the doors and outside Spirit World. Ryouga snapped out of a daydream he was having about being alive again and looked at Botan, "Umm... Where are we going?"

"Well, you didn't just think that sitting on it and doing nothing is going to hatch that egg, did you? Not to mention we have to make sure your body is okay. Now, do you have any idea where that old man could've gone?" Botan asked.

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah. The Tendo Dojo in Nerima... That pervert... he better not..."

"Oh, good thing we know where he is," Botan interrupted.

She pulled out a large map from her pink kimono, "Let's see Nerima, Nerima... Ah, there it is. Now... Tendo Dojo..."

Ryouga looked at the map curiously, "What kind of map is that? Where did you get it?"

"It's a spirit map. I can find any place anywhere in the world with it. It helps make my job easier. Ah! The Tendo Dojo! ... Wow," Botan murmured.

"Wow?" Ryouga questioned.

"I've never seen so much spirit energy gathered in one place before... And look at all that chaos energy centered there... It's amazing," Botan replied.

"Chaos? That sounds like Nerima, all right," Ryouga remarked.

Thus, Botan and Ryouga made their trip towards Nerima and the Tendo Dojo...

Yusuke was just minding his own business.

'But isn't that how it always starts? Minding my own business before something crazy happens? Stupid town,' he thought.

He had been minding his own business as he walked home from work. It was a peaceful walk. He was actually quite pleased that not a single of Ranma's fiances had stopped him to ask where Ranma was. There was also no sign of Mousse, either. He thought today was going to be a good day. Boy, was he wrong. It happened when he was just half way home. His spirit senses, though weak, could detect something extremely powerful heading in his direction. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Before Yusuke could even prepare himself, the thing had barreled over him and bounded away. A stroke of luck allowed him to avoid getting trampled on by several girls carrying various weaponry: brooms, pitchforks, pans, and rolling pins. All he could hear was, "What a haul! What a haul!" and "Don't let him get away, girls! We're going to stop him this time!"

Yusuke got up quickly and blinked, 'What was that thing? Wait a minute... It's headed for the Tendo Dojo!'

He hurried over to the Tendo Dojo, the girls had broken up at this point shouting that they'd find the pervert and that he couldn't hide forever. Yusuke quickly entered and looked around. Everything seemed normal...

"Hey, Yusuke! Welcome home!" Akane greeted.

"Hello, Akane. You didn't... see anything strange go through here, did you?" Yusuke asked.

"Strange? No... I don't think so... Hey! Yusuke! Do you want to try some cookies I made?" Akane responded.

"Cookies? I'm not a cookie person... Anyway, I have to go check something...," Yusuke began.

Akane looked at him pleadingly, "Please?"

Yusuke grumbled, "All right. I'll try one."

Poor naive Yusuke; he hadn't yet tried Akane's cooking and trying it was a mistake he wouldn't soon forget. As he bit into the cookie, his first thought was, 'Hmm... This isn't so bad...'

Those thoughts quickly turned sour when the cookie began to taste extremely sour. Yusuke's face scrunched up and he put his hand over his mouth.

'Oh man... I've never tasted anything so bad in my life...' he thought.

He quickly ran to a trash can and began to spit as much of the cookie out as possible. He began to scrape at his tongue.

'How could anything taste so horrible?' he wondered.

"Ahhh, what a fine collection I've brought in today," an elderly voice commented.

Yusuke suddenly had the feeling that the powerful thing he had felt earlier was nearby. He turned around and in a room, he saw a little old man sitting and sifting through a wide variety of... women's undergarments. Yusuke's eyes bugged out of his head.

'What the...' He couldn't even finish his thoughts. For one he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Another thing was that he couldn't believe that such a little old man could be so... so powerful.

Akane came towards him, holding her bag of cookies and looking at Yusuke worriedly, "Do you think I put too much vinegar in them, Yusuke? Or was it the pepper? Or maybe I didn't put enough soy sauce..."

Yusuke turned his attention away from the little old man to stare at Akane.

'Vinegar? Pepper? Soy sauce? In cookies!' he thought.

Yusuke wasn't any expert when it came to cooking and baking, but even he knew that those things didn't belong in cookies. Akane suddenly turned away from Yusuke to look in disgust at the little old man that was Happosai. Then, she noticed something peculiar among Happosai's collection.

'Just wait a minute... Is that... Aren't those Ryouga's clothes over there?' she wondered.

Those thoughts were put to a halt, though, when she saw something much more startling, "P-CHAN!"

She rushed over, shoving Happosai aside and pulling her beloved pet pig out of the articles of underwear and bras.

"P-chan! What happened to you? P-chan? P-chan?" Akane cried.

She tried to get him to come to consciousness and as she did so, she could feel no heartbeat or life from him.

"P-chan! Wake up, P-chan," Akane began to sob.

Happosai rubbed a bruise on his head, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Akane..."

Akane's eyes shined with fury, "YOU MONSTER! What did you do to him? What did you do to my P-chan?"

"I didn't do anything! I..." Happosai started, but was unable to finish.

Akane left the room carrying P-chan in her arms. She started walking towards her room, but didn't make it there. She fell to her knees and began to cry hysterically.

"P-chan...," she sobbed.

The scene had happened all too fast for Yusuke. He was having trouble figuring out what was going on.

'What's a P-chan?' he wondered.

Ranma came home after being chased by Kuno for being an 'evil sorceror who has cast Akane and the pig-tailed girl under a spell'. He found Akane on the floor, still crying over the loss of her pet. Ranma was instantly uncomfortable, "Uhh... Akane... Are you okay?"

Akane stopped crying and she was eerily silent for a while. Then, "Okay? Okay, Ranma?"

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with anger and woe and her face streaked with tears, "Do I look okay to you, Ranma? Do I?"

"Whoa, Akane...," Ranma began, but Akane's glare shut him up.

"Does... P-chan... look okay? What about P-chan? It's not like you ever cared about him... He never did anything to you and now look," Akane began to sob again.

Ranma saw P-chan in her hands, but really didn't have a good look at him. He frowned, "Well, what's the matter with him? Is he sick or something?"

Akane clenched her teeth, trying to prevent more tears from falling from her eyes, "He's DEAD, Ranma! P-chan... P-chan... he's... dead..."

She looked down at P-chan sadly. The words Akane had spoke hit Ranma like a ton of bricks. A feeling of great dread surged in the pit of his stomach.

'Dead? No way... That's... No! It's not the REAL P-chan! It's some other pig! I know it is! There's no way that is Ryouga... No way that he can be... Be...' Ranma thought.

"Give me, P-chan, Akane," he demanded.

"N-no! You've tortured P-chan enough! Leave him in peace! Leave my little baby in peace," Akane shrieked.

"Now, Akane! It's important! I need to see something," Ranma shouted.

"N-no! No! No! No!" Akane cried.

She stood up and started to run away from Ranma. Ranma moved quickly and started trying to take P-chan out of her iron grip. Akane bit his hand. The move didn't deter Ranma despite the pain he felt from the bite. He finally took P-chan into his hands.

"No, Ranma! You jerk! How can you do this to me? Give him back! Please... please, I beg you, Ranma!" Akane pleaded.

Ranma ran away from her, 'This isn't P-chan... I know it's not P-chan... I'll prove it to myself...'

He headed for the bathroom, he shut the door behind him and locked it as Akane was hot on his heels. He had to act quickly before Akane managed to break the door down. Swiftly, Ranma turned on the hot water in the bathtub and dunked the dead black pig into the water. His breath became caught as he hoped with all his heart that the pig in his hands wasn't P-chan... wasn't Ryouga. His hopes were shattered when he saw the black pig change into human form. He saw Ryouga's broken and battered body. Ranma choked.

'No... No...' he plunged into agony.

His eyes widened as he continued to stare at Ryouga's dead body. Ryouga was covered in bruises and dirt. Twigs and leaves were sticking out of his hair. His eyes were closed like he was sleeping and as much as Ranma wanted that to be the case, he knew it not to be true.

"Ryouga," he whispered.

He heard in the background, loud banging noises on the door. He carelessly turned on the shower on to cold water. It drenched him and Ryouga, changing him into a girl and Ryouga back into a little black pig. The door suddenly fell down and Akane rushed in, snatching P-chan back into her arms. She was about to scream at Ranma for being so heartless, but then she saw a look she had never seen on his, now her, face before. Ranma looked as if she had lost her best friend and, though Akane didn't know it, that was exactly why her face was stricken with grief.

"Ranma... Did you... You cared about P-chan, too?" Akane inquired softly.

Ranma stood with her head bowed. Her bangs were covering her face to hide a few tears that she couldn't prevent.

"Akane... There's something about Ry... P-chan... You don't know. And you never will know... But... Yes. He meant something to me... We didn't get along all the time. But still... He... he was really the only one I could actually trust... deep down," she murmured.

Akane's features softened as she heard Ranma's words, which she could feel were sincere. She didn't know just what Ranma meant about her not knowing something about P-chan, but that didn't matter.

"Do you... know what happened, Akane? To Rrr... P-chan?" Ranma asked.

"No... I found him with Happosai," Akane said.

Wordlessly, Ranma left the bathroom and headed into Happosai's room. She grabbed Happosai before he could run. If looks could kill, Happosai would've been in trouble. He was almost frightened by Ranma's rage. Almost.

"What happened? What happened to him, Happosai? Tell me... NOW!" Ranma snarled.

"I... I don't know...," Happosai answered.

"Tell me... the truth," Ranma growled.

Unbeknownst to Ranma and Happosai, they were being watched by Botan and the spirit of Ryouga. They had arrived, looking for Happosai and had stumbled upon the scene of Ranma roughly interrogating Happosai. Ryouga watched the scene with a puzzled look on his face. Botan was silent.

"You should thank me, really... Without my having interfered, you wouldn't even have seen the body! I don't know what happened to the kid... I found him laying on some rocks... It looked like he had fallen off the cliff there," Happosai explained.

Ranma's grasp on Happosai grew weak the moment Happosai mentioned Ryouga falling off a cliff. Happosai tore away from Ranma and bounded off, not wanting to be among the two grieving members of the household. Ranma felt extremely sick to her stomach.

'He... killed himself,' Ranma thought.

She trembled; her hands reached up to her head. The thoughts bombarding her were overwhelming. She could scarcely breathe.

'I can't... he... it's all my fault... He just... killed himself... I didn't think he would... ever get so depressed... I should've been there for him... I should've been nicer... I was always causing him so much trouble... I'm even the one who got him cursed... I put him through nothing but misery... and now... now, he's dead... because of me,' Ranma thought.

Ryouga was shocked by Ranma's strong reaction, "I thought he'd be... I don't understand... We were enemies... I think... maybe..."

"It looks to me like you were someone very close to her. She wouldn't be reacting like this if you two were enemies," Botan told him.

"She's really a guy... Her... His name is Ranma," Ryouga muttered.

"Ahhh... You must've been really good friends," Botan observed.

Ryouga paused as he thought about him and Ranma being good friends. There were so many times Ranma had made him angry and it didn't help matters that it was Ranma's fault he was cursed, but... Looking at Ranma now, Ryouga felt a twinge of guilt for all the times he had made trouble for him and all the times he said he was going to kill him.

'I didn't know he would be this broken up... but... Maybe he really was my friend... Maybe I was just too... too angry about what he had done to see that he really did have some concern for me...' he thought.

Akane entered the room, carrying P-chan in her arms. She was beginning to come to terms with her pet's death. After the initial shock, she was finding it easier to accept that her pet wouldn't have lived forever. She approached Ranma, who was still in a state of powerful anguish, "Ranma?"

"It's my fault... it's all... my... fault," Ranma choked.

"No, it's not, Ranma. I know you wouldn't kill P-chan... It's not like you," Akane assured.

"But... I should've been nicer, Akane... maybe he wouldn't have... maybe...," Ranma trailed off.

"There was nothing you could've done," Akane soothed.

She kneeled down beside her and hugged her. Ranma wasn't herself. She didn't even think about the hug. She simply embraced it. It took all of Ranma's willpower not to cry right then and there.

'I wish you could understand, Akane... But... I can't tell you about Ryouga's secret. I will always honor my promise,' she thought.

It hurt Ryouga to see Akane hug Ranma like that and comfort him in such a manner. He desparately wished that it could be him she was hugging.

'She doesn't even realize I'm the one that's dead... Oh, Akane,' he thought.

"What am I going to do? It's like I've just disappeared from their lives, now... If I came back...," Ryouga wondered out loud.

"Well, first and foremost, it's important that you keep your body in good condition," Botan started, but she paused.

She heard Akane talk about funeral arrangements for P-chan. Akane talked about burying P-chan in the backyard in a box after a small ceremony honoring the pig. Ranma didn't respond. She was wishing now more than ever that Ryouga was alive or at least that Akane knew that it had been Ryouga that had died, so that more proper arrangements could be made.

"Well, then... Ryouga, it wouldn't do you much good to have your body feet into the ground. It needs to be kept in a safe place and somewhere where you won't suffocate once you're ressurected," Botan explained.

Ryouga looked back at Botan, "How would I be able to prevent my body from being buried, though?"

"You'd just have to tell someone you can trust... that you're coming back to life. And you'd have to be really convincing," Botan began.

Ryouga cut her off, "How would I do that? I'm dead! No one can hear me!"

As if to demonstrate he stood right in front of Ranma and began to wave his arms, "Hello, Ranma! I'm dead! But don't worry! I'm coming back! Oh yeah... And don't bury my body, okay? It needs to be in tip-top condition! Or as tip-top as it can get right now!"

His voice was full with sarcasm. Botan sweatdropped at Ryouga's antics. She started to explain to him about how he could communicate with the living through their dreams and through possessing people. She also gave him words of warning about possessing others.

"I can get into people's dreams? That sounds kind of scary," Ryouga said.

Botan laughed, "Well, I suppose it can be. But you can handle it, right?"

"Uhh... Right... Sure, I can...," Ryouga replied.

'I think,' he added mentally.


	6. Yusuke's Bad Day and Kuwabara's Search

After Akane had calmed down from her hysterics over her dead pig and had done enough to at least get Ranma to quit blaming himself, Yusuke approached her to ask her what was going on. She told him all she knew. Yusuke was somewhat surprised, 'Gee... All this fuss for some little black pig... I've never seen anyone get so emotional over a pet... Wait... Nevermind... Kuwabara has that stupid soft spot for his kitten, Ik... whatever its name is...'

He wondered sometimes about Akane and Ranma. Many times before he had seen them fight and argue, but now he was seeing a different side of them. A side where they were actually acting like a couple, supporting each other in their time of need. Yusuke grumbled and put his hands in his pockets, 'Everybody around here acts so weird... I...'

He stopped when he heard a familiar giggle. A frown crossed his face, 'Oh, great...'

The source of the giggle was just as he suspected. It was his mother... and she was drunk... again.

'How could this happen? I didn't give her any money to buy anything... She isn't working... and... Wait... What's that on her...'

Yusuke's eyes glinted madly with anger. He ran into the room and pried Happosai off his mother's chest, "JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"Hey! Let go of me! We were just having a little fun... Let go! Let go! How can you be so mean to your elders? Hasn't your sweet mother taught you anything?" Happosai shouted.

"Blah... Yushuke! Yushuke! Lookie... I'm a biiirrrddd," Atsuko hiccuped.

Yusuke's eyes narrowed at the diminutive pervert. Then, his eyes found their way to three suitcases that were open and scattered inside them was sake.

'What? That's impossible! I threw those out! Grrr! I hate this place! Nothing ever makes sense around here!' he thought.

Then, he was whacked upside the head with a pipe. Happosai laughed, "Ha! That'll teach you to mess with the Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts! Oh, and to keep your guard up, too! Ha ha ha!"

He bounded off and Yusuke, becoming even more irritated, chased after him. Happosai was incredibly fast. Yusuke sped up a bit more; he almost couldn't believe how fast the little pervert was and at such an old age, too. Yusuke screamed after him, "Come back here, you sick freak! I'm not going to hurt you too much! I'll just break your arms! And then your legs! And then, maybe for a little fun, I'll see how hard I can squeeze your head without crushing your skull!"

Happosai continued running with a satisfied look on his face, "You're going to have to catch me first, slowpoke!"

Yusuke chased the old man all the way out of the Tendo Dojo and down the streets. He ran faster, reaching up to sixty miles per hour, and was pleased to find he was gaining on the old Master of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Happosai certainly looked surprised to see that Yusuke was catching up to him, "Not bad, kid! Not bad! But I'm still better!"

Happosai suddenly became so fast that he was a blur of motion and finally just disappeared. Yusuke was stopped in his tracks and he blinked, 'Whoa... That's... I think he went even faster than Hiei...'

"HAPPOFIRE BURST!" a voice yelled.

Yusuke quickly turned around and caught an unknown projectile that was aimed at him. He looked down at it with an uncomprehending look, 'Just what in the world is this thing suppose to be...?'

He blinked again and it finally set in, 'Oh... It's a bomb... Wait a minute... A BOMB?'

**_BOOM!_**

****When the smoke cleared, Yusuke was singed head to toe. He couldn't remember the last time he was as annoyed as he was at that moment. He twitched as he held what was left of the bomb, 'I'm going to get him...'

"You there! Boy!" a female voice called.

Yusuke scowled, 'Oh no... Not HER...'

He turned around again and glared at the girl that was Kodachi Kuno, "What do you want?"

"I am Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose... The beautiful flower of St. Hebereke...," Kodachi began.

'Must she do this every time she talks to me?' Yusuke wondered.

Kodachi threw a bouquet of black roses at him, "And I need you to deliver this to my darling, Ranma Saotome!"

Yusuke glared at her, but Kodachi seemed unaffected. She jumped onto a rooftop and hopped away, "Oh ho ho ho ho ho!"

Yusuke shuddered. He didn't think he would ever get used to that creepy laugh. He started walking back home and just as he was about to abandon the black roses as he always did, he had to catch yet another bouquet. This time they were red roses. Yusuke tensed up as he stared at Tatewaki Kuno in rage.

"You there! Boy! I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Raging Storm of Furinkan...," Kuno began, but Yusuke cut him off.

"I know who you are! The junior high isn't that far away from the high school!" Yusuke snarled.

"Oh... Right. Very well. Those roses are for your older sister, Akane. I want them delivered promptly and in fair condition. After all, it won't be too long before we'll be brothers. It's only right to treat an older brother with respect," Kuno told him.

'Respect! Ha! Like I know the meaning of the word,' Yusuke thought.

Kuno walked off, "Fare thee well, young brother."

"Idiot," Yusuke muttered under his breath.

Once again, he headed on his way home and started to abandon both set of roses until yet another voice called out to him, "RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Yusuke had about all he could stand, 'That's right, Mousse... I'm Ranma Saotome... Come attack me... I'd just LOVE to beat you to a bloody pulp...'

Suddenly, Mousse stopped charging at him. He looked at the roses in Yusuke's arms, "Since when did you run a baby-sitting service, Ranma?"

He paused, "Oh well... I can't attack you right now, then... I wouldn't want to hurt the infants... They can't help that they have such an incompetent baby-sitter..."

Yusuke's face was turning red in his fury, 'Rrrrrrr... Must hurt... something...'

Mousse smiled at the babies fondly, "Cute little guys..."

He put his glasses back on to get a better look at the 'babies', "Hey! Those aren't babies! You tried to... Oh wait... You're not Ranma."

Yusuke punched Mousse in the face and stomped off. He began tearing the roses to shreds, laughing maniacally. In the distance he could hear Mousse screaming, "AHHHH! You broke my glasses! You're going to pay for this, Tendo!"

Yusuke winced at the 'Tendo' part. He still preferred Urameshi as it was what he had always been called and it wasn't like his mother had actually married Mr. Tendo. He entered the Tendo residence, still frustrated with all he had been through. Akane came to greet him, "Hey, Yu... Hey... Are you all right?"

"No," Yusuke grumbled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Akane asked.

Yusuke scowled, "No."

Akane shrugged, "Well, okay. Suit yourself."

Yusuke headed for the bathroom, 'Maybe a shower will calm me down...'

As he walked towards the bathroom, he heard a very, very familiar female voice who sounded like she was talking to herself.

"Well, it is going to be a while until night time, you know. If someone were to get knocked out, you could possess them and try to communicate to someone that way, but that could take even longer to happen," the voice explained.

Yusuke found the monologue intriguing. He approached the area he was hearing the voice and found the owner. It was Botan.

'Why is she talking to herself? And what is she doing here? Oh, don't tell me it's another mission... As if my day couldn't get any worse,' Yusuke thought.

Botan noticed Yusuke and her eyes widened, "Yusuke! What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Yusuke queried.

Ryouga looked at Botan and then at Yusuke, "Uhh... Who is he, Botan?"

Botan turned to Ryouga, "He's the spirit detective..."

Ryouga blinked, "Can he see me?"

"No, he can't see you or hear you," Botan replied.

"Well, how come he can see and hear you?" Ryouga asked.

"I think the most likely reason would be that he's accustomed to my spirit energy like this and like the way it is when I appear to mortals who are living. So, it doesn't matter whether I'm in this state or not," Botan answered.

"There's some dead person next to you, isn't there, Botan?" Yusuke remarked.

"Yes. Hopefully, he won't be dead for too much longer," Botan responded.

Yusuke grinned, "What? You mean he's getting to come back to life? Heeeey... Does that mean I can retire?"

"No, of course not! You're the spirit detective and until Spirit World is done with you, that's the way it's always going to be. It's just, like your death, the circumstances of his were unusual. We didn't expect him to die... Some unknown being killed him... On accident or on purpose, we don't know. It'll be something for you to investigate once we get enough information," Botan informed.

"Great," Yusuke mumbled.

"Now, what are you doing here?" Botan asked.

Yusuke explained his situation, shocking both Botan and Ryouga. Ryouga had no idea that Akane had a younger half-brother, 'Maybe if I can get along with him, Akane will like me even more... and maybe he'll give me his blessing to... ahh... umm... Well, I'm getting ahead of myself...'

Yusuke looked in the direction Botan had been looking in before, "Well, whoever you are... Good luck. Being dead is a pain in the rear... Hey, if you guys ever need my help..."

He paused, thinking of a way to say something that was nice, not so nicely.

"If you ever need my help, I MIGHT help you. You know, if I'm not busy. Because if I am, too bad," Yusuke said.

Botan smiled, "Thanks, Yusuke."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Yusuke muttered.

He walked out of the room, feeling less frustrated. It had been good to see a familiar face like Botan's again. Little did he know, that he'd be seeing more familiar faces...

Kuwabara's eyes snapped open and he stood, breaking his meditative pose.

"I finally found him! After all this time of searching, I found him!" he shouted.

Shizuru took a puff on her cigarette and glanced at her brother with a deadpan expression on her face, "I'm so happy for you."

She sounded sarcastic, but Kuwabara didn't care. He immediately rushed to his room and began packing a bunch of things. Then, he came barreling out of his room, bags and all, straight to the front door, "BYE, SHIZURU! I'LL BE BACK... Ummm... WELL, I'LL BE BACK!"

Shizuru sighed, "Bye, Kazuma."

It was a few minutes later that Kuwabara came back. Shizuru gave him a funny look, wondering why he had come back so soon. Kuwabara looked around the house, "Ikitichi! Here, girl! I no wanna weave you awone in the house... Not after what happened last time... C'mere, my widdle girl..."

Shizuru sweatdropped. Granted, she was used to him baby-talking the cat, but it was still just as ridiculous as the last million times she had heard it. She knew Kuwabara was really attached to the cat and she remembered how angry he was with her when he came back from rescuing the cat from some punk boys. Really, if she had been there, she would've stopped them from taking Ikitichi, but at the time of the catnapping, she had been grocery shopping. It seemed like it took forever for Kuwabara to realize that she wouldn't have let anything happen to the cat. Still, it didn't look like Kuwabara was going to take any chances, either. After picking Ikitichi up, Kuwabara resumed his way to Yusuke's location.

Shizuru put out her cigarette. It wasn't even a minute later when Kuwabara came back again. Shizuru stared at him. Kuwabara looked at her sheepishly, "I forgot the cat food..."

He headed into the kitchen and stuffed his bags full of cat food. It was quite a feat he was pulling off. He was carrying many bags, Ikitchi, and stuffing the bags full of cat food.

"Well... Now, I'm off!" Kuwabara announced.

He rushed out the door. Shizuru sighed, 'That's my baby brother...'

Kuwabara was hurrying towards Yusuke's energy signature. He figured it might take him a few days to reach the place on foot, but he was determined to figure out why Yusuke skipped town. He came to a halt for a moment.

'Hey, wait... I might be gone for a while... I better tell Yukina. That way she won't get worried when I don't come visit her...' Kuwabara thought.

He merrily set off for Yukina's location with a big, goofy smile on his face. He always enjoyed going to visit his one and only love, Yukina. Needless to say, it didn't take him very long to get there. Yukina was sitting outside and had been feeding some birds. The birds took off the moment they spotted Kuwabara's cat. Yukina stood up and smiled at Kuwabara, "Why, hello there, Kazuma, that's a lot of stuff you got there. We aren't going on another picnic, are we?"

Kuwabara's goofy grin didn't leave his face, "Nah... Nothing like that today... I just came over to say hi... Hehehe..."

A look of confusion crossed Yukina's face, "With all that stuff?"

Kuwabara suddenly remembered all that he was carrying, "Oh yeah! Umm... Yeah... I'm going to find Urameshi... He took off somewhere with his mom and hasn't come back, yet... I got to make sure he hasn't gotten himself in trouble and all... I'm good like that..."

"Yes... What a good friend you are, Kazuma," Yukina commented.

Kuwabara's heart fluttered, "Yeah... but enough about Urameshi... How have you been, Yukina?"

"I've been all right," Yukina sighed.

Kuwabara frowned in concern, "Are you sure? You don't sound very happy..."

"Well... I am... I'm pretty satisfied here... It's just I... I really wish I could find my long lost brother... I know he's out there... somewhere," Yukina mumbled.

Kuwabara put his arm around her shoulders, "Aww, Yukina..."

He patted her on the back gently, "Listen, you'll find him someday! I know you will! But don't worry about it, right now... Okay? Just keep on hoping and keep on smiling... Because you know... You have a pretty smile..."

Yukina laughed, "Oh, you're so silly, Kazuma. Thanks for your support. I'm going to miss you while you're away."

Kuwabara blushed, "Hehe... Don't worry, Yukina. I'll be back. The power of our love can't keep us away from each other for long!"

Another puzzled look appeared on Yukina's face, but she continued to smile, "Well, you know where you can find me..."

Kuwabara nodded and, even happier than he was before, went back to his quest of finding Yusuke. Yukina sat back down when he left, 'He knows just how to make someone feel better... Hmm. He can be so silly, sometimes. I wonder what he meant by the power of our love? It must be another one of those human jokes... like on the television...'

Kuwabara halted in his running; this time because a little old lady had gotten in his way.

"When you find the dimwit, tell him that just because I'm not within a reasonable walking distance from his place, doesn't mean he can be a slacker!" Genkai declared.

Kuwabara rubbed the back of his neck, "Uhh... Okay. Yeah. I will."

Genkai began to walk away from him, "Good. Also, tell him if he doesn't visit me every once in a while, I won't hesitate to come find him."

"Uhh, sure," Kuwabara replied.

He blinked a few times before he started running again. Hiei had observed all of this (watching Kuwabara with his sister, Yukina always made him feel angry) and was curious as to where Kuwabara was going in such a hurry, as he was too far away to hear any of the conversations. He sped off after Kuwabara, keeping up rather easily.

'The human doesn't even notice me... Hmph. Guess he's lucky I'm not out to attack him. Not yet, anyway...' Hiei thought.

It wasn't long before nightfall came and Kuwabara set up camp in an open area in the woods. It might take him a few days before he would be able to reach Yusuke's location. He smiled as his pet cat kept close to him and the warmth of the small fire Kuwabara had started, "Isn't it nice out here in the open? Can't you just smell the fresh air, Ikitichi?"

"Meow."

Kuwabara squealed (much to Hiei's annoyance) and hugged his kitten carefully, "You're so precious... Yes, you are... Yes, you are..."

Hiei sat down on the tree branch he had been standing on and put his face in one of his hands, 'I cannot believe this moron...'

Kuwabara laid out a can of cat food for Ikitichi and fixed his own dinner out of the non-perishable food items he had taken with him. He looked up at the very tree Hiei was sitting in, "Hey, runt! You hungry, yet?"

Hiei nearly fell out of the tree in surprise, "W-wha..."

He regained his composure quickly enough and glared down at Kuwabara, "I don't need any food from you, fool. I can get my own..."

Kuwabara shrugged, "Whatever... Fine. If that's the way you want it..."

"It is," Hiei grumbled.

There was a long silence. Then, Kuwabara looked up towards Hiei again, "So, why have you been following me, shorty? What happened? Did you get lost?"

Hiei didn't dignify Kuwabara with a response. It was bad enough a mere human had caught him off guard like that.

'I didn't think he had done enough training to accomplish such advanced sensory... Oh well. It doesn't matter. It's not like I really care,' he thought.

Kuwabara decided a conversation with Hiei wasn't one worth having and it wasn't long before he took to the sleeping bag for the night. He was sure to craft Ikitichi her own little bedding next to his, so that he could be certain that a wild animal wouldn't try to make her its meal. Hiei just continued sitting in the tree, pondering things such as his sister, Yukina and what Kuwabara was running around for.

Back at the Tendo Dojo...

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Ryouga screamed.

Of course, no matter how loud he screamed, no one living would hear him. Ryouga had truly tried to get into Akane's dreams to speak with her, but becoming lost as usual, he had wandered into the guest room and had gotten into Genma's dreams. There was pork, everywhere...

Pork that was just being inhaled by Genma's mighty mouth. Ryouga felt as if he was in one of his own nightmares, which involved him turning into a little black piglet and getting eaten by someone with an enormous appetite.

"How do I get out of here?" Ryouga shouted.

"Well, Ryouga, you should've listened to me... I didn't mean enter their dreams like that! You didn't have to actually go inside his body... That's only when you want to possess someone... Now, just calm down and allow yourself to float out of that dream and back to me," Botan instructed from outside Genma's dream.

Ryouga closed his eyes and relaxed himself. He pictured in his head getting outside the dream and being near the guide known as Botan. Botan giggled, "Okay... You're safe, now... You can open your eyes."

Ryouga opened his eyes and sighed in relief, "I'll be more careful next time..."

"I would hope so. But I think you better wait until tomorrow before you try to communicate with the living again. It looks like it took you enough energy just to get out of that dream," Botan advised.

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah... Yeah... I'll wait until tomorrow..."

Hopefully, he would have better luck tomorrow.


	7. The Great Assembly

'I don't wanna get up,' Yusuke thought.

He heard Ranma get up in a slow, sluggish manner. He assumed Genma was already up because the man often got up early, likely to begin warming up for his daily spar with Ranma. Yusuke sighed when he heard Akane's footsteps approach the room.

"Nooooo," he whined.

He crawled over to a closet and shut himself in there and began to doze off again. It only took Akane a few seconds to find him, "Really, Yusuke... You tried this trick a few days ago."

"Mrrr... rrr...," Yusuke grumbled.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Akane. Then, he shut his eyes again and muttered something in sleep gibberish. Akane groaned and took hold of Yusuke's ankles. She began dragging him across the room. Yusuke growled, "ALL RIGHT! I'M UP!"

He kicked a bit, forcing Akane's hands off him, and stood. He crossed his arms and grumbled to himself.

"It's about time. Yusuke, I'm getting tired of doing this every morning... Why don't you just...," Akane began.

Yusuke interrupted, "If you're so tired of doing it every morning... why don't you stop? I don't HAVE to go to school, you know..."

Akane glared at him, but stopped, she gave him a look he had only seen on Nabiki, "Oh, really?"

Yusuke paused because the look he saw on her face kind of creeped him out. Akane thought she was using a cheap shot, but honestly, she was getting tired of having to come into the guest room and drag him out of bed just about every single morning. She put her hands on her hips, "Well, then... If you don't want to go to school, I guess we could always just k---..."

Yusuke sighed irritably, "Okay, fine... Don't say anything more... I'll go to stupid school..."

"What a good boy you are," Akane mocked.

"Yeah... and you're such an angel," Yusuke countered.

Akane smiled, "You bet I am..."

Yusuke facefaulted. Akane frowned, "Don't make me drag you again, Yusuke..."

Yusuke got up and headed for the dining area for some breakfast. After breakfast, Yusuke changed into his old school uniform (he downright refused to wear the other school's uniform simply to be stubborn and rebellious) and followed Akane and Ranma out the door. He walked with them for the most part until about half-way to Furinkan High. That's when he would make a turn and head for the junior high. The odd thing about that day's walk to school was that Akane and Ranma didn't say a word, not even to each other.

'Usually, there's some kind of argument going on or something... This is just spooky...' he thought.

Akane suddenly turned to him, "You better be in school today, Yusuke. See you..."

Yusuke blinked and saw his turn, "Ah... right... yeah... Bye, Akane..."

He made the turn and stuffed his hands in his pockets, 'Stupid school... I could just go to the video arcade around here... but... What if Akane decides to come check on me like last week? I know! I'll go the first half of school... And then skip the last half! It's the perfect plan!'

Yusuke went to school, wearing a smug look on his face. He was startled when he arrived to see that all the Hawaiian decorations were gone and that there was no screaming of, 'Help! He's going to shave off my hair!'

He sat down at one of his classes and leaned back in his desk with his arms crossed, 'C'mon... Let's just get these classes over with, already... I don't have all day...'

"Attention!" a man's voice over the intercom declared.

Everyone in the classroom looked up, except Yusuke, even though he was slightly curious.

"Principal Watson has returned from his vacation in London, England. I'm sure we were all very grateful to Principal Kuno taking over his position on short notice...," the man began.

The man on the intercom suddenly went into a coughing fit and the words 'Not likely' and 'I hate this haircut' could be faintly heard within the fit of coughs.

"Sorry. Welcome, Principal Watson! We missed you!" the man exclaimed.

"Thank you, Mr. Anoun. Students, thank you for trying to be on your best behavior. If I ever go on vacation again, I will make sure that I leave the responsibility of running the school to someone... more capable. That is all," Principal Watson announced.

Cheering could be heard throughout the school and it took a lot of control from Yusuke not to cheer himself. He was relieved that Principal Kuno was gone, 'Man... That guy has problems...'

After his first class, which was so boring Yusuke fell asleep through it, he decided to just skip the other first half of his classes, anyway. He headed up to the roof of the school building and sat down. He yawned and started to take a nap...

"Hello!" a male voice greeted.

Yusuke opened his eyes and looked up at the greeter irritably, "What? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?"

The greeter was a boy about his age who had black, spiked hair, narrow-framed glasses, and yellow eyes. He was wearing the appropriate school uniform, but it looked as if the entire uniform had been tye-dyed. To Yusuke, he looked rather ridiculous.

"Well, sooorrrry... For interrupting your little nap! But I'll have you know, that I'm very disappointed in you!" the boy shouted.

Yusuke stared at the boy, "What?"

"You heard me, Yusuke Urameshi! I'm disappointed! You spend all the time you have from skipping class sleeping! It's an outrage! You should be out causing some kind of commotion or something! I'm ashamed!" the boy cried.

Yusuke continued to stare. He honestly didn't know what to think. Then, his eyes narrowed, "Hey... How did you know my name?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah. I sit behind you in one of your classes. My name's Chaz Jokin!" Chaz replied.

"Chaz Jokin? That's a strange name...," Yusuke muttered.

"It's an American name! My parents are Americans, but you know they decided to live here and all," Chaz explained.

"Yeah... Whatever. Just go away," Yusuke yawned.

"Go away? Go away? Sorry, no can do... Not until you do something besides sit around and sleep," Chaz insisted.

Yusuke glared at the strange student, "You're starting to bug me... Either go away or I'll MAKE you go away..."

Chaz laughed, "Make me? Really? As fun as that sounds... You don't want to make me do anything. Wouldn't it be more fun to beat up some of the self-proclaimed tough guys around here? Or maybe you could do something that would make everyone in the entire school go into a panic..."

Yusuke growled, "Shouldn't you be in class or something? If I have to get up, you're going to regret it..."

"Nobody even knows I'm gone... Oh well. I thought you could've been some fun, but it turns out you're just a slacker. Too bad," Chaz pouted.

He turned to begin leaving, but then stopped for a moment. The boy turned back around to face Yusuke, "You know, you can't avoid everything, forever. It's only a matter of time before things start happening to you, too. Yep. All sorts of things..."

Yusuke yawned and looked as if he wasn't paying attention, "Are you still here?"

Chaz didn't seem to be effected by Yusuke's apparent lack of attention and took on a daydreaming expression, "It'll be great. I feel better already just thinking about it!"

Yusuke groaned softly, 'All right, now he's just talking to himself. That's it. I'm throwing him down the stairs.'

Chaz snapped out of whatever daydreams he was having and grinned widely, "Well, Yusuke, it was great meeting you! I'm going to really enjoy your stay here. See you around!"

Then, much to Yusuke's relief, he headed back downstairs. Yusuke started to take a nap again, 'What a strange and annoying guy...'

A thought struck him, 'Wait... Strange guy? He might... Nah. If he was some kind of demon, I would've noticed. I'm just being paranoid. Now... for that nap...'

Ryouga was floating over Akane and Ranma on their walk to high school. Botan was following behind him and making sure he didn't somehow end up getting lost. Akane looked over at Ranma in concern, "Ranma, it'll be okay. P-chan... Well, you know, he couldn't have lived forever. We would've outlived him, anyway. Please, you have to try and get over this..."

Ranma didn't say anything because he knew if he did he would choke on his words. Inside his knowledge of the circumstances of Ryouga's death were killing him. His thoughts turned incredibly bitter towards himself and his once famous self-confidence had plummeted to nearly nothing, 'He was my friend. I was... horrible. To him. Ryouga... I'll understand if, even now, you won't forgive me for what I've done to you. I deserve it. I deserve everything bad that's ever happened to me... I...'

"Oh no! Ranma, we're late! Come on, we have to hurry!" Akane shouted.

Ranma lifted his head up slowly, "What's the point, Akane?"

Akane stopped in mid-run. She turned back to Ranma. She was really becoming worried about him. She had never seen him act in the manner he was now and her thoughts on getting to school were quickly dashed. She approached him and sighed, "Ranma..."

"Akane... I wish I could... tell you. I wish I could make you understand, but I can't. I can't tell anyone... No one that knows would ever take me seriously. I'm so... hurt," Ranma whispered.

Akane stood in front of him for a while, uncertain about soothing him in public. She didn't want humiliation to go along with the strong sad emotions Ranma was feeling. There was a long silence. Akane found herself wishing that she knew what Ranma was talking about, 'There's something more to it than P-chan dying, but what? What has caused him to be... this emotional wreck?'

Akane turned her head to look at the high school which was some feet away and then she looked back at Ranma, "Maybe... maybe you should stay home today, Ranma..."

"Maybe I should just stay here... it's not going to matter, either way," Ranma mumbled.

Akane opened her mouth to try and say some words of comfort, but then...

"Ranma, you knave! What spell have you put under Akane this time, vile sorcerer?" Kuno screamed.

Akane didn't even bother asking any questions as to how Kuno got out of school when he was supposed to be in it. Almost immediately, she sent him flying. There was no way Ranma was going to be in any mood to deal with the every day havoc of Nerima. Botan quickly nudged Ryouga, "Hey! She just knocked that guy out! Now, is your chance! Get a move on. Your concern for your friend will be eased once he finds out you're coming back to life..."

Ryouga nodded, "Ah... Right!"

He began heading towards the now rapidly descending unconscious Kuno and allowed his spirit to possess him.

"Now, which way to Furinkan High?" Ryouga wondered out loud, trying to get used to the fact that he was in someone else's body.

Botan caught up with him and was telling him which way to go to get to the high school. She had never before had to follow someone so closely before, but then she hadn't ever met anyone like Ryouga before, either.

'Poor guy... It must be pretty hard on him not knowing where he's going to end up next...' she thought.

Ryouga had to stop himself (or rather Kuno since he was inhabiting his body) before he ran into girl-type Ranma (he had gotten sprayed with water on his way back). Ranma gazed up at him with tired eyes. Ranma's father had stopped by the high school and had insisted that he would walk him home. Akane, of course, wasn't certain, but she did have to go to school and she needed to explain why Ranma wasn't attending that day. Of course, it wasn't long before Genma left Ranma in favor of some free food samples that were being handed out nearby. So, there was no one to take care of Kuno, but her. Ranma sighed miserably and prepared herself to knock Kuno out.

"Ranma! Stop being miserable for a second! I need to talk to you!" Kuno exclaimed.

Ranma blinked and stared at Kuno awe-struck, 'What?'

She checked herself and found that she was still a girl. Yet, Kuno had called her Ranma and wasn't making a move to hug her. She knew right away that she could not have been speaking to the real Kuno.

"Who are you?" Ranma asked.

"Well... umm... This might come as a shock to you... but... It's me. Ryouga Hibiki," Kuno said slowly.

Ranma took in a breath shakily, but he didn't dare hope, "Is this some kind of cruel joke? Because... if it is... It's not even close to funny... I'll... Please, don't mess with me... Please."

Kuno shook his head, "It's not a joke, Saotome. It really is me. P-chan, Ryouga... boy who made the silly mistake of having some strange face painted on his stomach in order to become super strong..."

Ranma's eyes widened, "Ryouga... It is you! Ryouga..."

Tears started to spring forth from Ranma's eyes, but she wiped them away quickly. She didn't want Ryouga to see her cry.

"Listen, I have something important to tell you," Kuno stated.

"I'm... listening, Ryouga," Ranma replied, eager to hear what Ryouga had to say to him.

"I'm coming back to life," Kuno started.

Questions swarmed Ranma's head, "Back to life? But... I thought... You..."

She lowered her head.

"No, Ranma. I didn't kill myself... I... don't think I ever will, that is, when I come back to life. It was something else that killed me. I don't know what it was, but apparently it wasn't supposed to have killed me. It's not even suppose to be here... So, the people... These people in this place called Spirit World... They're giving me a second chance. There is something I need your help with," Kuno explained.

"I'll do anything you ask, Ryouga! Anything, just name it," Ranma responded eagerly.

It was like Ranma had just woken up from a nightmare. He felt a little nauseated because of how badly it had made him feel, but yet, he was relieved. He was happy to hear that his friend hadn't committed suicide and he was even happier to hear that he was coming back to life.

"My body, Ranma! You need to keep an eye on it! If anything happens to my body I'll never be able to come back to life! That goes for the burying to... You need to make sure that I'm not buried. Okay? Can you do that for me?" Kuno declared.

'Oh man... This is going to get tricky... Akane definitely isn't going to like this, but I can't let Ryouga down. I'm going to show him that I can be a good friend,' Ranma thought.

He nodded his head, "Yeah! I'll do it, Ryouga. Nothing is going to happen to your body on my honor as a martial artist and a man."

"Good. And.. uhh... umm...," Kuno began.

'Akane... I need to make sure Akane will be okay while I'm gone,' Ryouga thought.

Ranma was all too willing to do more favors that Ryouga asked, "What? And what?"

"You better be nice to Akane, Ranma. Just because I'm not here to keep you in line doesn't mean you can be a pervert," Kuno growled.

Ranma sweatdropped and waved his hands, "Oh, come on, Ryouga. I'm not a pervert."

"Don't deny it, Saotome! I've seen you be a pervert! You just better redeem your ways," Kuno accused.

Ranma glared at Kuno, but remembering how unhappy he was before because of Ryouga's death he kept his anger in check. He smiled at Ryouga, "Okay. Fine. If that's the way you're going to be, Ryouga. I'll be nice to Akane and I won't be... perverted."

Kuno beamed, "Great! Now... uhh... How do I get out of this body?"

Ranma looked at Kuno puzzledly, "You're asking me? How am I supposed to know? You're the one who got in there in the first place."

Kuno pointed behind him, "I'm not asking you. I'm asking her."

Ranma didn't see anyone behind Kuno, "Who?"

Botan giggled, "Ryouga, he can't see me, silly. Anyway, it's very simple to get out of his body, but you still have a few hours before you have to get out. I mean, it's a good opportunity to get out there and do some good deeds."

"Oh, yeah. Good idea, Botan," Kuno replied.

Ranma just became more confused, "My name isn't Botan and I didn't say anything else..."

"Don't worry about it, Ranma. I'm off to do some good deeds!" Kuno declared.

"But... Kuno is suppose to be in school," Ranma pointed out.

"Oh... well, umm... I can do good deeds at school!" Kuno exclaimed.

He turned around and began to run towards Botan. Ranma slapped his forehead, "Ryouga! The school is this way!"

He pointed in the opposite direction Kuno was heading. Kuno stopped and laughed sheepishly, "Ahh, right. I knew that."

'It's good to be talking to Ryouga, again. Even if he is in somebody else's body,' Ranma thought.

Ranma walked Kuno (or rather Ryouga in Kuno's body) to school. Students who were staring outside the windows in boredom were obviously very shocked to see the pig-tailed girl and Kuno walking together, side by side. Rumors began to circulate around the school and it wasn't long before those rumors reached Akane's ears.

"What? Are you joking?" Akane shrieked.

"No, I'm not, Akane! The pig-tailed girl is walking with Kuno towards school! I didn't think they would ever hook up like that, but... I guess maybe the pig-tailed girl through all those times she beat Kuno up must've secretly liked him. It's kind of romantic," one of Akane's friends responded.

Akane couldn't believe she was hearing this and rushed to the window to see for herself. Students were already crowding the windows and talking amongst themselves. No matter how much the teacher shouted at them to get back in their seats, the noise they were generating drowned him out. One of the students that was looking out the window was a wide-eyed Ukyou.

"Man, has he gone insane?" Ukyou muttered to herself.

A guy student next to her looked at her like she was crazy, "What do you mean? Kuno has always been insane..."

'I wasn't talking about Kuno,' she thought.

Akane pushed past the crowd and saw for herself that girl-type Ranma was indeed walking with Kuno. They entered the building. The students returned to their seats and waited for the bell to ring, so that they could find the 'couple' and interrogate them. Akane and Ukyou couldn't wait and had sneaked out the door.

"Hey, Akane. Do you know what's up with Ranma?" Ukyou asked.

They were rushing down the halls, trying to find Kuno and the 'pig-tailed girl'. Akane looked thoughtful, "I don't know, Ukyou. This is really, really unlike him. I mean, I know he was depressed, but..."

"Depressed? Ranma-honey is depressed? Why? What did you do?" Ukyou accused.

"Me? I didn't do anything! I don't know why he's so depressed, but I do know that P-chan has something to do with it," Akane informed.

"P-chan? You mean your pet pig?" Ukyou questioned.

"Yeah... P-chan... he's dead," Akane said sadly.

Ukyou blinked and didn't say anymore to Akane. She hadn't really known the little black piglet very well, so she couldn't really feel upset about its death. Akane and Ukyou soon spotted Nabiki and three of her friends running with them.

"Faster, girls! We're going to get to the bottom of this," Nabiki ordered.

"Yes, Nabiki!" the three girls behind her shouted in unison.

She was likely trying to find some way to turn a profit out of the whole incident. Akane glared at her older sister, "Nabiki..."

"Oh, hello, Akane," Nabiki greeted in an innocent tone of voice.

Everyone came to a sudden halt when they nearly ran into the now boy-type Ranma (he had stopped at the bathroom to pour hot water on himself). Akane was surprised to see how cheerful he looked. Ranma smiled at everyone, "Hey, guys. What's up?"

Nabiki was the first to speak. She dawned a sly look, "We were just going to ask you that, Ranma. Why, it wasn't too long ago we saw the pig-tailed girl walking with Kuno. You wouldn't happen to know why that is, would you?"

The three girls behind her knew nothing of Ranma's curse. Besides, Nabiki enjoyed messing with Ranma's head. Ranma suddenly realized the implications, "Hey! I... He..."

"What's going on, sugar?" Ukyou demanded.

"What were you doing with Kuno?" Akane asked.

Ranma gulped, "Well... uhh..."

How was he going to explain it? He looked around, hoping Kuno would help, but he couldn't find him, "Hey! Where'd Ryouga go?"

"Ryouga?" the group of girls muttered in unison.

Ranma groaned silently. What a mess he found himself in!

'What a great time for Ryouga to get himself lost. Ah, he wouldn't have been able to help, anyway. He turns into jello every time he's near Akane,' he thought.

While Ranma tried to explain himself, Kuno was out wandering the halls.

"I can't believe he ditched me! I don't know my way around this place!" he yelled.

"He didn't ditch you, Ryouga. You just wandered off... I tried to say something to you, but it looked like you were daydreaming and didn't hear me," Botan told him.

Kuno frowned, "Oh... I'm sorry, Botan. I guess I got carried away..."

Botan smiled, "Don't worry about it, Ryouga. It's okay."

A small smile crossed Kuno's face.

'What a nice smile she has,' Ryouga thought.

Then, Kuno shook his head.

'What am I thinking? Akane has a nicer smile... I think. Well, they're both nice. Botan's nice... Akane's nice...' Ryouga thought.

His own thoughts were confusing him, but luckily something drew his attention away from them. He had just stumbled across a small group of guys who were mercilessly taunting a girl who was just trying to get to class.

"Please, could you move? I really need to get to my next class... I'm going to be late," the girl said to the boys timidly.

"Did you hear that boys? She wants us to move. We wouldn't want the know-it-all sophomore to be late, now would we?" an older boy, likely the leader of the group, laughed.

A scrawny-looking boy of the group suddenly looked alarmed, "Uhh... Genda. We should start heading to class before Principal Kuno shows up and cuts our hair."

"In a minute. I'm not afraid of the principal and I'm just starting to have some fun. But, you give me an idea. Why don't we give this girl a haircut ourselves? Anyone got any scissors?" Genda asked.

A boy handed Genda a pair of scissors. Genda smiled cruelly, "Great."

The girl had no room to run because the boys had surrounded her, "Please, leave me alone..."

Ryouga couldn't stand watching it anymore. Botan didn't even have to say anything to him.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Kuno ordered.

The boys glanced at him a bit nervously. Genda himself looked a slight bit nervous, but he figured there wasn't too much to worry about. Tatewaki Kuno hadn't been the "Chivalrous Warrior of Furinkan High" ever since Akane began attending high school. When Kuno had been a freshman, he went around the school beating up all the bullies and earned a reputation as the strongest guy in school for quite a while (until Ranma showed up). There had been one time Genda and his group had started picking on some freshman girl who was always making the best scores in some business class or another. Kuno had come to her rescue and the boys could still feel the bruises they had received from such a long time ago. Since Akane had come to school, Kuno's focus of being a 'chivalrous warrior' went out the window, leaving the bullies to do whatever they wanted. All of other strong students were too busy with their own affairs to bother beating them up.

Of course, now Genda couldn't pick on the freshman girl because she was no longer a freshman and had earned a reputation herself as someone you wouldn't want to mess with because it was very easy for her to make someone's life miserable. That didn't mean he had stopped picking on everyone else, though.

Genda coughed, "Hey, Kuno. Don't you have something to be doing right now? You know... Like... Which one, man? Akane Tendo or the pig-tailed girl?"

Ordinarily, this would've worked, but...

"You guys make me sick! You're not getting away with being such... jerks!" Kuno snarled.

He drew the wooden sword and charged at the group of boys and a few of them started to take off running. He didn't let them get away.

**_Swish. _WHAM! _Swish. _WHAM! _Swish. _WHAM!**

'Three of them down, three to go. Heh. This thing is pretty cool,' Ryouga thought.

He sheathed the wooden sword and went back to the fighting style that was more familiar to him. He slammed his fists a few times against two of the boys and they joined their friends in the realm of unconsciousness. Genda looked around him, 'Uh-oh. This doesn't look good...'

Kuno punched him in the face pretty hard. Genda was knocked out cold. The girl looked at Kuno in amazement and then, she bowed to him, her long, straight black hair falling past her shoulders, "Thank you very much, Upperclassman Kuno."

Kuno's cheeks tinged red, "Ahh... You're... umm... welcome. I... uhh... You should get to class. You know... before you're... umm... late..."

The girl stood straight and nodded happily. She started walking to class. Then, thinking for a moment, Kuno began to follow her. The girl looked at him questioningly. Kuno didn't make eye contact with her, "Uhh... Well, I just thought I'd walk you to class..."

The girl smiled, "You're so nice."

Kuno blushed, "Uhh... umm... It's no... problem."

Botan watched the scene with a big grin on her face, 'What a gentleman! This egg is sure to hatch into a good spirit beast.'

The girl said her goodbye to Kuno before she entered her classroom. Kuno said goobye to her and then left to do some more good deeds. Botan stopped him, "Actually, I think you better get out of his body, now. The fighting you did looks like it took a small toll on him. I'm willing to bet he's not much of a fist fighter..."

Ryouga looked at the wooden sword that was in its sheath, "Yeah... You're probably right. I don't think I've ever seen this guy use anything but this sword thing to fight."

Ryouga concentrated hard and finally, his spirit left Kuno's body. Kuno blinked and looked as if he had just woken up from a dream. He looked around with a suspicious look in his eyes, "That's funny. I could've sworn that I was outside rescuing Akane Tendo from the evil clutches of Ranma Saotome."

Botan handed Ryouga his spirit beast egg, "Safe and sound. If you keep up with the good deeds, it won't be long before this egg will hatch."

Girl-type Ranma walked onto the stage in the auditorium of the school with a solemn look on her face. It seemed like millions of people had gathered to hear what she had to say. In reality, it was only everyone in Nerima except Kasumi (who told her father that she didn't feel like going because she was feeling a little tired and still needed to clean up around the house) had gathered there. Yusuke was just glad to be out of school, 'I don't know why I'm here, but hey... I'm not complaining.'

Naturally, all of Ranma's fiancés were there to hear what she had to say. Ukyou and Akane couldn't get a straight answer out of Ranma, but then Ranma insisted that he go before the whole school as a girl and explain what went on between him and Kuno. Shampoo and Cologne went as well when the rumors had circulated all the way to them. Of course, Mousse followed Shampoo and would've already been on stage attacking Ranma, but the problem was he couldn't see. His glasses had still not been fixed and while he continually searched the crowd for Ranma he would mutter, "As soon as I get my hands on him, that Tendo boy is going to pay..."

Genma and Soun were there to figure out what had went on and were currently not speaking to each other because of an argument they had over Ranma's sexuality and mental health. Dr. Tofu had been invited over by Ranma himself, in case of an emergency. Happosai was, of course, not invited, but he went to the school anyway to raid the girls' locker room for various unmentionables while all the girls were up in the auditorium. All of the schools in the district of Nerima had decided to go to the large assembly because everyone else was going. Kodachi, in particular, had pressured her school to attend because of her curiosity of matters involving the pig-tailed girl and her older brother. Nabiki was heading a poll in which it cost 50 yen per person to vote. The poll choices were vast and one of the most disturbing choices had to be, 'Pig-tailed girl is going to announce that she is pregnant with Kuno's child'.

Ranma tapped the microphone, "Is this thing on? Oh. It is. Nevermind. Umm... Well, uhh... Ladies and gentlemen... I'm sure you're all wondering why I was walking with Kuno this morning. And the answer is kind of... funny, really... Heh... heh. Uhhh..."

Sasuke appeared before his master, kneeling, "Master Kuno! I have a gift here for you... It is from a girl..."

Kuno's eyes snapped open from his 'meditation', "The pig-tailed girl?"

"No. A different girl... She said she wanted to give you this as a token of her appreciation for rescuing her from Genda and his gang of bullies..." Sasuke replied.

"Genda? I haven't fought him in... Oh well, nevermind. Let me see this gift," Kuno insisted.

Sasuke handed him a very small package with a paper card attached to it. Kuno opened the package first. Inside was a white headband with the words 'The Chivalrous Warrior of Furinkan High' printed on it. Kuno stared at the headband and then grabbed the card to read it.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done, Upperclassman Kuno. Those boys were always picking on me and no matter what I did, they wouldn't go away. You're a true hero," he read.

Kuno was struck speechless. He couldn't remember fighting anyone and he certainly didn't remember saving a girl from a group of bullies.

"Hmm... Sasuke!" Kuno called.

"Yes, Master Kuno?" Sasuke responded.

"It seems I have neglected my real duties for too long. This... memory lapse I've had... It's a sign from my ancestors! They're trying to tell me that I must draw my sword against the forces of evil, not just against the accursed Ranma Saotome, but of the other villainous fiends out there, as well. Sasuke, this will mean that I will not have the time to meditate. Therefore, you will take my place!" Kuno explained.

"Err... uhh... Take your place, master?" Sasuke wondered out loud.

Kuno grabbed Sasuke and placed him on the pillow, "Yes! You must meditate on the choices. Akane Tendo or the pig-tailed girl... Akane Tendo or the..."

Sasuke nodded, "I get it, master! I've seen you do it millions of times! I won't fail you!"

"Thank you, noble Sasuke. Now, I must inform the entire school of my realization," Kuno said, putting on the white headband he was given.

"So, you see... After being knocked out by Akane, Kuno suffered temporary amnesia. He couldn't remember anything, not even his own name! I had to help him. He was in such a pitiful state and I was the only person that looked somewhat familiar to him. So, I walked him to school," Ranma told the crowd.

Nabiki grabbed a bullhorn, "Hey, pig-tailed girl! Where does Ryouga come into all of this?"

A nervous smile came across Ranma's face, "Excellent question, Nabiki. Umm... Well, I bumped into Ryouga when we entered the school building. Yeah. He had gotten lost somehow trying to find me. The funny thing is that he didn't want to fight. He said he only came here to tell me that he would be going away for a while... On some kind of mystical training journey... Then, he just disappeared like he always does. I don't know how long it'll be for him to get back."

"How do we know you're not making this up to cover up the real truth?" Nabiki shouted.

This drew a strong reaction from most of the members of the crowd. Ranma started to say something, but then...

Kuno who wasn't paying attention to the fact it was the pig-tailed girl on stage, grabbed her and put her in the crowd. He immediately started addressing the crowd, "Students of Furinkan High..."

Kodachi waved at him, "Brother dear!"

Kuno gave her an annoyed glance, "And my twisted sister whom has come here for some reason that I have not a clue of..."

It was if he was oblivious to the fact that just about everyone in Nerima was in the crowd, "I have come before you today to tell you that my ancestors have contacted me!"

Murmurs of 'Not again...', 'Is he serious?', and 'Basket case' traveled through the crowd. Kuno didn't let it phase him, "I had a memory lapse, in which during I saved a girl from a gang of scoundrels... Later, I reached an epiphany. My ancestors have signaled to me that it is my duty as the 'Chivalrous Warrior of Furinkan High' to protect the innocent and punish the fiends of our world! No longer will acts of cruelty be allowed to go on, so long as I, Tatewaki Kuno, walk this earth!"

Ranma blinked, 'Weird... But at least, all the attention isn't on me, now.'

Kuno continued, "Pig-tailed girl! Akane Tendo! Do not despair, but I must do this! You are still held very dear to my heart. Always! Time will only tell when I will be able to date with either of thee."

A neutral expression crossed Nabiki's face, 'I hope this doesn't mean he isn't going to buy pictures from me, anymore. Hmm... Gotta say, though... I did kind of miss the Chivalrous Warrior...'

Genma and Soun started leaving the building with smiles on their faces. Soun turned to Genma, "I'm sorry I ever doubted your son, Saotome."

Genma nodded, "It's all right, Tendo. He had me worried for a second there, too."

Soon, the entire crowd began to disperse. Yusuke walked out of the school building shaking his head, 'This place just keeps getting crazier and crazier...'


	8. Poor Kasumi!

Kasumi smiled. The house was finally spotless and she had managed to make dinner on time, too. She was proud of herself, but she was also exhausted. There were so many people to clean up after in the Tendo household. She sighed and started to work on the dishes. Akane came in holding a few dishes in her hands and set them to the side at the sink. Then, she paused and looked at Kasumi sympathetically, "You look tired..."

Kasumi frowned for a moment, then she smiled, "Just a little."

Akane took the dishes away from Kasumi, "Hey, listen. I'll do the dishes tonight. Why don't you go and get some sleep?"

"Are you sure? It wouldn't be a problem for me to," Kasumi started.

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it," Akane said.

Kasumi hugged her sister, "Thank you, Akane."

"No problem!" Akane said.

Kasumi started towards her room, yawning, 'How nice of Akane to do the dishes for me.'

She opened the door to her room and stopped in her step, her eyes widened in horror. Her room was a complete mess. Atsuko laid sprawled out on the floor, muttering some sort of nonsense about flying pigs. Kasumi eyed a few empty bottles that laid scattered about on the floor. She sighed miserably, "Miss Urameshi, you really need to stop this. All this drinking is bad for you and you need to clean up the messes you make. It's not fair that... Miss Urameshi? Miss Urameshi, are you listening to me?"

Atsuko was passed out on the floor. Kasumi stared at her helplessly, 'A mother is not supposed to act like this.'

She sighed again and started cleaning her room. When she was finished, she was more exhausted than ever. She changed into her pajamas and then curled up on her bed. Ryouga had his eyes shut tightly, "Botan, is she done changing, yet? Why did you make me go into her room when you knew she was going to be going to bed?"

Botan laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, Ryouga. She's done changing, now. Anyway, I thought maybe you could help her out."

Ryouga opened his eyes, blinking, "How? I'm a ghost! How can I clean things?"

Botan sweatdropped, "I didn't mean cleaning. I mean, well, you saw her. She must've worked all day today trying to keep this house clean. She hardly gets any help at all. She can't be expected to keep up after everybody here! It's too much for one person."

"Oh. Ohhhh. You're right. She does do a lot of work around here," Ryouga mumbled.

He felt guilty, "And then she also has to put up with guests... like me."

"Now is not the time to be upset, Ryouga. You've got to help this girl!" Botan said.

Ryouga nodded, "Right. Umm... How?"

Botan sighed, "Well, for starters it'd probably help if you talked to her about it. Then, go from there. All of this is really up to you."

Ryouga looked at the spirit beast egg in his hand.

'I think Kasumi does deserve some help around here. And it might help my egg hatch into a good spirit beast,' he thought.

He floated towards Kasumi's bed, "Hey, Kasumi? Can you hear me?"

Kasumi looked out into the park, seeing Ryouga wandering around. She blinked in surprise, "Oh, hello, Ryouga! Did you get lost?"

'Guess she's seeing me in her dream. I wonder what she's dreaming about? Hmm. Oh well,' Ryouga thought.

"No. No, I'm not lost. I was wanting to talk to you," he said.

Kasumi saw Ryouga approach her picnicking area and sit down. She smiled at him, "Well, that's nice. What do you want to talk to me about? Help yourself to some rice balls. Silly me! It seems I went through all this trouble to set up a picnic and didn't even bring anyone to come along with me."

'Picnic? Guess I better play along,' Ryouga thought.

"Thanks. Umm... Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about... chores," he started.

"Chores?" Kasumi questioned.

"Yes. Uhh, you see I'm a little worried. I know its probably not any of my business, but I really don't think you should be the one stuck with all the chores in the house when there's so many people living under the same roof as you," Ryouga replied.

Kasumi frowned, "But somebody has to do it..."

"Yeah. What I'm saying is I think everybody should lend a hand, you know?" Ryouga suggested.

Kasumi thought for a moment, "I don't know. It seems like everyone is so busy. I don't want to cause anyone any trouble."

"I don't think it'd be any trouble at all. In fact, you'd probably be doing all of them a favor! There needs to be a little normalcy in the Tendo residence. What's more normal than an individual's own set of chores he or she needs to do around the house? And it would give you more time to yourself. So, you could do things that... Well, you like to do," Ryouga told her.

Kasumi smiled, "You're absolutely right, Ryouga! What a good idea. Thank you."

Ryouga grinned, "No problem! Oh, and... I think you should move Miss... uhh... What's her name again? That lady in your room with you..."

"Miss Urameshi?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah! Her. I think you and your sisters should take turns with her in each other's rooms. So, your other sisters can get to know her."

"Well, I really don't know about that, Ryouga. Miss Urameshi isn't exactly... Well, she's not... I mean," Kasumi began.

"It'd be good for her! Maybe she'll feel more welcome and not want to... drink so much," Ryouga persuaded.

"Hmm. You might be right. Okay. I think I'll try it. If it doesn't work out she can always just stay in my room," Kasumi mumbled.

"Good! I gotta go, now. Hope someone nice comes along to help you enjoy that picnic, Kasumi," Ryouga said.

"Thanks for everything, Ryouga! Don't be a stranger!" Kasumi said.

Ryouga floated away from Kasumi's sleeping form and back to Botan's side.

"So, how'd it go?" Botan asked.

"Good. Tomorrow morning will be brand new for this place," Ryouga said confidently.

Botan patted him on the back, "Great! Glad to hear it. You're so much easier to work with than when I had to work with..."

She continued on. Both of them were unaware that Atsuko had suddenly woke up and walked out the door.

Yusuke turned in his sleep, dreaming sweet dreams of pounding the living daylights out of every dream idiot that ticked him off. Until... He was woke up by his mother.

"Yusuke! Yusuke! Are you alive? Please, be alive. Don't die on me again," Atsuko cried.

'Not again,' Yusuke thought.

He opened his eyes and looked at his sobbing, hysterical mother. He sighed, "I'm still alive, mom. Don't worry. I'm not going to die."

His mother hugged him tightly, "Oh, Yusuke. Thank goodness..."

Yusuke grumbled a little, "Yeah, okay. Now, go back to sleep, mom."

Atsuko hugged her son again, "Be careful, Yusuke."

Yusuke rolled his eyes and hugged his mother, "I'll be fine."

Atsuko stood and left the room with tears still in her eyes. Ranma, also having woke up because of the crying woman, stared at Yusuke.

'What was that about?' he wondered.

Yusuke turned over, trying to get comfortable. The two boys made eye contact. Yusuke glared at Ranma, "Is there a problem?"

"No. I was just wondering what was going on," Ranma said.

"It's none of your business," Yusuke growled.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to be so crabby," Ranma grumbled.

Yusuke sat up, "You wanna fight?"

"What are you all mad for? I just said... You know what, I don't care anymore. You've got such an attitude problem. Maybe I should fix it for you," Ranma said angrily.

"Yeah? You think so?" Yusuke shouted.

Ranma sat up, glaring at him, "Yeah! I do think so! You and me, one on one... Right..."

Ranma's father, in panda form, suddenly rolled over and flattened him. Yusuke blinked sleepily and shrugged, "Hmm. Well, that takes care of him."

He lied down and fell asleep. Ranma struggled beneath the weight of his panda father, but finally managed to get out from underneath of him. He kicked his father a couple of times, "Stupid old man! Why do you gotta sleep like that, anyway?"

His father let out a couple of loud snores. Ranma crossed his arms and looked over to Yusuke... only to find him asleep. He waved his arms, "Hey! What are you doing asleep for? I thought we were going to have a fight! Wake up!"

Yusuke didn't move a muscle. Ranma walked over to him and shook him, "Yusuke! Yusuke!"

Nothing. Ranma cursed under his breath, 'Guess we'll have to settle this tomorrow.'

He went back to his sleeping area, lied down, and soon fell fast asleep. Morning brought interesting challenges to the Tendo household.

"So, I made this chart here. It'll show each of you what your chores are for each day of the week. It's very simple, see?" Kasumi told everyone, except Happosai who had run off early that morning to "work", in the living room.

Ranma rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Man, it's way too early for this kind of thing. It's not even a school day! Kasumi, I don't have any problem doing chores and stuff like that, but... I do have one question. How come the little freak doesn't have a place on that chart?"

"Oh, silly Ranma. Happosai is getting too old to be doing chores. I wouldn't want him to get worn out," Kasumi said.

Ranma facefaulted, "What? Too old? That freak he has..."

Nabiki rolled her eyes, "Just let it be, Ranma. Happosai would probably just break something anyway."

Kasumi smiled, "So, does everyone understand what they have to do?"

They nodded, but some of them, such as Nabiki, were not all that thrilled about the arrangement. Nabiki retreated to her room, 'If we were rich, we could just hire a couple of maids to do all this.'

She opened the door to her room and was surprised to see it a complete mess. In the middle of it all was Atsuko Urameshi.

"Miss Urameshi, what are you doing in my room?" Nabiki asked.

Atsuko, who was sober at the time, looked up and started to explain to her. Kasumi passed by Nabiki's room and saved her the trouble. She smiled at her younger sister, "Oh, Nabiki! I almost forgot to tell you. I decided that since she's going to be living with us that we all get to know her a little better. And I thought, what better way to do that than to have her spend equal amounts of time in our rooms! So, you get her this month. Next month, she'll be sharing a room with Akane. Then, the month after that, she'll be in my room again! Isn't it just great, Nabiki?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes, but managed a fake smile, "Sure, Kasumi. It's really great."

Kasumi clapsed her hands, "Good! I'm so glad you agree!"

She hummed as she began to gather dirty laundry to wash.

'That dream... it was so strange. But it looks like everything turned out all right. I should pay attention to my dreams more often.'

She stopped abruptly, having nearly ran into something. She smiled uncertainly, "Oh, hello there. Is there something I can..."

The laundry basket fell from her hands as she was carried off to an unknown fate.

Ranma panted from his exhaustion as he ducked in and out of shadowy areas, holding P-chan's dead body.

'I thought I'd never be able to make it out of the house without Akane catching me with him. She would've freaked. Now, all I have to worry about is... everyone else. Man, where am I going to find a safe place for Ryouga's body? I don't even know where a safe place is around here! I'm not even sure one exists...' he thought.

He hopped up onto a roof top and ran, jumping from roof top to roof top. He was thinking, searching, and hoping that none of his fiances, wanna-be fiances, or enemies would find him. He paused in his step for only a moment, 'Hey! Dr. Tofu's place is pretty safe! Oh... but he probably wouldn't believe me about Ryouga. He might think I'm crazy. Darn it. What am I going to do?'

He sighed in frustration as he hopped off a roof top and into a nice, dark alley he could take a break in for a while.

'I'll keep this up as long as it takes, Ryouga. But once Yusuke gets off from work, I'm going to be taking a little... break. You'll understand, won't you?' he thought.

"Vile fiend! You'll think twice about littering once I'm through with you!" Kuno shouted.

The freckled teenager stared at Kuno wide-eyed and quickly put his discarded soda can into a nearby trash receptacle. He waved his arms in a surrendering motion, "Don't hurt me, Upperclassman Kuno! I won't do it again, I promise!"

Kuno narrowed his eyes and took a step closer, "Do you swear on your honor?"

"Yeah! I do! I swear!" the boy said desparately.

Kuno sheathed his wooden sword and nodded, "Very well. You are free to go. Let that be a warning to you. I won't go so easy on you if I catch you littering again."

The boy bowed, "Thank you!"

Then, he ran off as fast as he could. Kuno took in a deep breath, feeling proud of himself. The streets of Nerima were safe and clean, thanks to him. He started to laugh loudly to himself as his pride over his "accomplishments" grew. A strange boy ran over to him eagerly, "Mister Kuno!"

Kuno blinked and looked at the boy who was about thirteen or fourteen years old. The boy smiled at Kuno, "Hi! You probably don't know me very well, but... I'm your biggest fan! My name is Chaz Jokin! And... uhh... Well, if its not too much trouble... Can I have your autograph?"

The boy pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. Kuno was struck speechless.

'This kid... wants my... autograph?' he thought.

It went to his head quickly enough, "My autograph? OF COURSE YOU CAN! The Chivalrous Warrior of Furinkan High always has time for his fans!"

He took the pen and paper and began to write his name. Then, he tried to give Chaz the piece of paper, "Here you go."

Chaz didn't accept the piece of paper. He seemed distracted by something.

"Hey, kid. The autograph?" Kuno said.

Chaz frowned and his look became more concentrated. Kuno grumbled impatiently, "Excuse me, boy... Just what are you looking at, anyway?"

He looked in the direction Chaz was looking in, but didn't see anything, but bushes and trees. Chaz blinked and looked back at Kuno, "Oh. Sorry. I wasn't looking at anything. Hey! All right! A real autograph from Tatewaki Kuno! GREAT! Thanks alot!"

He took the autograph and ran off. Kuno shrugged, 'What a strange kid. Oh well. I'm off to do more good deeds for my public!'

The day drew on slowly for Yusuke. But finally, it was time to go home. Yusuke left the department store and headed back to the Tendo Dojo. He sighed, feeling miserable, 'And I still have those chores to do when I get home. This sucks.'

"There you are, Tendo! I've been looking all over for you! I will make you pay for what you did to me!" Mousse shouted.

Yusuke blinked and looked to his left to see Mousse talking to a trash can. He sighed again, 'As if my day could get any worse. Maybe if I just walk on by all casual and stuff, he won't notice me.'

Unfortunately for him, Mousse did notice. He ran in front of Yusuke and laughed, "Aha! I know that's you, Yusuke! You can't fool me with that disguise!"

'What disguise?' Yusuke wondered.

"Yeah. Its me. What do you want, Mousse?" he asked.

Mousse threw a paper airplane at him. Yusuke caught the paper airplane and unfolded it. It was some kind of bill. He blinked when he saw the total cost, "Sheesh. What do you think I am, rich? What should I pay you for, anyway?"

He started to wad the bill up into a paper ball to throw back at Mousse. Mousse grinned, "I don't think so, Yusuke Tendo! You're paying me to get new glasses whether you like it or not! And you wanna know why?"

Yusuke thought for a moment, "Eh, someone to beat to a bloody pulp right now might make me feel a little better."

"No, you idiot! I'm not going to fight you! That wouldn't solve anything! You'd be stubborn! That's why... I kidnapped your mother!"

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, "What?"

Mousse laughed and opened his robe to reveal a bound and gagged... Kasumi. Yusuke growled, "That's not my mother, you dumb..."

Mousse looked at Kasumi closely, "She's not?"

"No! Now, let her go!" Yusuke demanded.

Mousse shrugged, "Well, if you want me to let her go so badly, she must be someone important. So... Pay up."

Yusuke began walking towards Mousse, "No. Let her go... or I'll..."

Mousse dug into one of his sleeves and pulled out a white feather and a jar full of white feathers. He threw the jar at Yusuke and held the feather close to Kasumi, "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you."

Yusuke caught the jar and rose an eyebrow at Mousse, "A feather? What are you going to do? Make her sneeze on me?"

Mouse chuckled, "Read the label on the jar, Yusuke. This is no ordinary feather. It comes from a very special type of bird..."

"Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers. Have a ball with your friends and family with these fun feathers! They'll laugh until they cry!" Yusuke read.

He looked up at Mousse quizzically. Mousse smirked, "Keep reading."

Yusuke looked down at the big red warning label, "Warning. Some people have had allergic reactions to Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers. If an allergic reaction occurs, stop using Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers and consult a physician. Women who are pregnant, who may become pregnant, or who are nursing should not be tickled by the Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers. Excessive use of Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers can cause skin irritation, abdominal problems, diarheaa, heart problems, laryngitis, an overactive bladder condition, in some cases serious injury to the tickler and the ticklee, bleeding, dry eyes, and extreme excessive use of the Tiki Tickle Parrot Feathers may be... fatal."

His expression darkened, "What do you plan to do? Tickle my half-sister to death?"

Mousse shook his head, "Of course not! But you read all those other problems didn't you? You wouldn't want to make things that unpleasant for her, would you, Tendo?"

Yusuke sighed, a little relieved that Mousse wasn't a complete psychopath. Still... He couldn't just hand over his pay check. He worked hard for it. Not to mention the grief he'd get from that vulture Nabiki...

He rushed towards Mousse, ready to knock him out quickly. Mousse backed away swiftly and started tickling Kasumi with the feather. The gag fell from Kasumi's mouth as she started laughing in an almost hysterical manner. She laughed and laughed, "Oh, stop... HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHahehehehehehehe... Hahahahahaha... stop... Hahahaha!"

"I'm almost to excessive usage, Yusuke. You better back down, right now," Mousse warned.

Yusuke showed no sign of backing down... Until Kasumi started to develop blotches on her face and sounded like she was having difficulty to breathing. Yusuke stopped a little fearful, "Hey, Mousse! I think you better stop, she looks like she's having... an allergic reaction."

"I'm not stopping until you hand over the money or until she loses consciousness!" Mousse shouted.

He seemed a little concerned about continuing the tickle attack with the way Kasumi was reacting, but still tried to maintain his position. Yusuke felt more than a little panicked as Kasumi looked and sounded worse, "MOUSSE!"

"Yusuke... the money...," Mousse insisted.

His voice was starting to crack, though. Yusuke became frustrated and he threw his pay check at Mousse. Mousse let go of Kasumi to get his pay check. Yusuke picked Kasumi up and ran for Dr. Tofu's clinic. Even with the feather no longer tickling her, she still had trouble breathing.

"It'll be okay, Kasumi," Yusuke muttered.

Kasumi tried to say something, but it only came out as a gasp. Yusuke barged into Dr. Tofu's clinic. Waiting patients took one sight of Kasumi and ran out of the clinic with faces deathly pale. Dr. Tofu and a newly treated patient came out to see what all the commotion was about. The patient saw Kasumi and he, too, ran out of the clinic. Dr. Tofu stared at them with a dazed look on his face. Yusuke glared at Dr. Tofu, "Don't just stand there! You're a doctor, aren't you? HELP HER!"

He shoved Kasumi into Dr. Tofu's arms. Dr. Tofu nodded meekly, "R-right."

He hurried into the medical room with Kasumi and worked quickly to put a stop to the allergic reaction. Yusuke sighed relieved, 'What a day this turned out to be...'

Dr. Tofu came out of the medical room and leaned against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief himself. Yusuke sat down on one of the waiting room chairs, "Is she going to be okay?"

Dr. Tofu twiddled his thumbs and glanced at Yusuke, "Y-yeah. She'll be... fine."

Yusuke looked a little puzzled, "Well, then, why do you look so nervous?"

Dr. Tofu laughed uproariously, "Nervous? Me? I'm not nervous! I'm fine! I'm great! Just perfect!"

He wandered away, "Now, I just need some tea... Some nice, calm, hot, soothing... tea."

Yusuke stared at Dr. Tofu, "Umm, doc? That's the bathroom."

Dr. Tofu paused, looking surprised, "It is? Really?"

Yusuke sweatdropped, "Yeah."

Dr. Tofu laughed and nodded, "Right! Right! Of course it is. The kitchen is this way."

Yusuke watched Dr. Tofu head for the exit, "That leads outside."

Dr. Tofu looked confused, "Well, I know I put the kitchen around here somewhere!"

He opened a window and began to climb out of it. Yusuke was puzzled by Dr. Tofu's strange behavior, 'What has gotten into him?'

He stood and walked over to Dr. Tofu. He grabbed Dr. Tofu by the back of his shirt and dragged him into the kitchen.

'I better make sure Kasumi is really all right,' Yusuke thought.

He left Dr. Tofu and went into the medical room. Kasumi was looking a little better. The blotches on her face hadn't cleared up too much, but she was breathing normally. At the moment, she was sleeping. Yusuke walked out of the medical room and went back to the kitchen to make sure Dr. Tofu wasn't burning the kitchen down. Dr. Tofu was sitting at a table, drinking the tea he had made. He didn't seem to like the taste of the tea he was drinking. Yusuke sat next to Dr. Tofu. Dr. Tofu looked at Yusuke and chuckled a little bit, "I seem to have accidentally added a lot of pepper to my tea..."

Yusuke blinked, "You sure have been acting strange."

Dr. Tofu looked a little embarrassed, "Yeah, well... Err. Anyway! What caused... Kasumi's... allergic reaction?"

Yusuke pulled out the jar of feathers that he had carelessly stuffed into his pocket after he had read the labelling. He handed it to Dr. Tofu. Dr. Tofu skimmed over the label, "Yeah. These things are notorious for causing problems. It looked like she had been subjected to a lot. Yusuke, you really need to be more careful about..."

"It wasn't me. It was Mousse... He kidnapped her and," Yusuke began.

Dr. Tofu looked alarmed, "Kidnapped?"

Yusuke nodded, "Yeah. Then, he threatened to tickle her until I gave him money to pay for his new glasses or until she lost consciousness."

Dr. Tofu looked down at his tea cup, "I see. Mousse..."

Yusuke noticed Dr. Tofu's grip on his cup tighten. Then, the tea cup broke in his hands. Yusuke didn't seem too surprised by the breaking of the cup, but was more than a little startled that the normally gentle doctor had broken it. Dr. Tofu seemed startled himself, "Oh. The tea... must've been too hot... Softened the cup or something."

He carefully picked up the pieces and threw them away. Yusuke's eyes narrowed for a moment, 'That's unusual. It feels like he has a lot of stored spirit energy... And if I can feel it... I didn't think a guy like him could fight.'

Dr. Tofu smiled at Yusuke, "Well, since I have to get myself a new cup... Would you like some tea?"

"No thanks," Yusuke said.

"Oh. Okay. So... This Mousse... Doesn't he work at that... ramen place? The Cat Café?" Dr. Tofu asked.

Yusuke shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really care, either."

"Oh, well. Just wondering," Dr. Tofu said.

He spilled the tea the moment he picked it up when Kasumi came into the kitchen. He looked dazed, "Kasumi!"

Kasumi smiled slightly despite the fact that the blotches on her face were probably irritating her, "Dr. Tofu... Could you help me find the telephone? I need to tell everyone that dinner will be a little late..."

Dr. Tofu shook his head, "N-no! You need to be resting, Kasumi. I c-can phone them! Really! You just go back to the medical room... and get some rest."

'Heeey... What if the reason he's acting so goofy is because he likes Kasumi?' Yusuke wondered.

He thought a little more on that, 'Then again, why do I care? That's probably not it, anyway. It must be this place! It makes everyone weird. Its probably already starting to make me weird, too. Why else would I be so nosy?'

Dr. Tofu followed Kasumi back to the medical room to make sure she would get into bed and rest. Yusuke walked out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway of the medical room. He sweatdropped as he watched Dr. Tofu try to find his way out. He sighed again, 'I have to get out of here, but first...'

He dragged Dr. Tofu out of the medical room and to the telephone. Then, after telling Dr. Tofu how to use it, he left the clinic. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking back to the Tendo Dojo, 'Maybe I can find Botan and we can... hang out or something. Much as I hate to admit it, I'm starting to miss everybody.'

He sighed and wondered what his old friends were up to.


	9. Stop with the Interruptions Already!

Ranma ran as though his very life were at stake. He looked up at the sky, tears in his eyes, 'I KNOW SOMEONE HATES ME! Why, why... How did Kodachi spot me? I was so careful. Even Shampoo couldn't find me while I moved so slowly and cautiously through darkened alleys and large trees...'

He noticed that the air-piercing laughter had been silenced. He looked behind him and didn't see Kodachi bounding after him with her gymnastic ribbon. He sighed in relief and took to the trees. Once again, he searched through the streets and his mind for a safe place to keep P-chan's body. He saw that the sun was starting to look a little low in the sky, 'It's getting late. Maybe I should head back...'

He felt something cold wrap around his ankle and pull him out of the tree he was in. Ranma landed on his back hard and winced, 'What the...'

He kicked his foot and managed to get whatever had latched onto him to let go. He flipped over, holding P-chan's body tightly and got a good look at what had pulled him out of the tree. It was a hideous black creature with two beady red eyes. It... kind of looked like a spider, but it was bigger than Ranma and it had too many legs and too little eyes. Ranma stared at the creature a little dumbfounded.

"You are... Ranma Saotome," the creature said in a deep, grating voice.

Ranma glanced over the creature, 'It can speak...'

He stood on guard, "Yeah. I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. What are you? What... do you want?"

"What I am is none of your concern... because you'll be dead soon. Your body and your little friend's body will be so mangled, that it will be impossible for either of you to come back to life," the creature said.

Ranma got into a fighting stance quickly enough, but he was a little handicapped with P-chan's body tucked under one of his arms. He took a deep breath, 'I can't leave his body on the ground. That... thing might try and grab him while I'm trying to fend it off. This is going to be tricky. Maybe I can stall him... And maybe I can fish for some answers to while I'm at it.'

"How did you know my friend was coming back to life?" he asked.

"A simple matter of whose one sources are. But I should've done a better job of killing him. Then, I wouldn't have had to worry about it," the creature growled.

Ranma's eyes widened, 'It... killed Ryouga?'

He clenched his fists as a great fury raged inside him. Suddenly, Ranma wanted nothing more than to avenge Ryouga's death. The creature only seemed to mock him when it smirked, "It wasn't really anything personal... to me. I was just doing what I was told to do. Which is to kill every possible threat that frequents here."

Ranma charged the creature, unleashing a barrage of kicks. Every time one made contact he would shudder from the cold, unpleasant feeling of the creature's skin. He let loose a couple of good, strong punches, "You're not going to kill me or anyone here because... I'm going to kill you."

Everything felt like a blur to him because of the intense anger welling up in his system. It was rare that he'd get so angry. The creature took the hits as it moved rather slowly for something with so many legs. One of its legs caught onto Ranma's ankle again and threw him into the lengthy body of water over the fence. Ranma held onto P-chan as hard as... she... could. She didn't want to lose him in the water's current. She popped her head out of the water and started swimming to the water's edge. The creature got in the way and using one of its many legs pushed Ranma into the water and refused to let her come up. Ranma struggled, having a great deal of trouble with holding onto P-chan.

She gritted her teeth, 'I'm not going to die. Not today. I'm going to avenge Ryouga's death. I'm not going to let it kill anyone else.'

The energy continued to build up inside her, but no matter how hard Ranma tried to release it, the energy felt blocked. She was getting desperate to get up for air and her lungs burned inside her chest.

'I'm not going to die,' she thought.

She pushed against the creature's legs and managed to get up for a small gasp of air before being plunged into the water again. The small breath of air didn't last her for very long, 'I need to... breathe.'

But she couldn't get up for air because of the creature and her struggling became less and less. She couldn't think anymore. And then she was out of the water rescued by some guy with slicked black hair...

"Yusuke?" she said weakly.

Yusuke dropped her on the ground, "Stay down. I'll take care of this."

Ranma shook her head, "No... this is..."

She felt too weak to respond anymore and laid on the ground too exhausted to move. P-chan's body was still clutched tightly under her arm. Yusuke turned to the creature that had tried to kill Ranma. The creature was looking a little intimidated, now, "Spirit detective? You're not suppose to be here!"

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, smirking slightly, "Guess it just isn't your lucky day. You don't seem like a very strong demon to me, but you're not really weak, either. You're working for somebody, aren't you?"

The demon backed away a little bit, "Not bad, detective. But that's all you're ever going to know! I'm out of here!"

Yusuke frowned and quickly charged up his spirit gun to shoot the demon. The demon suddenly melted into the grounded. Yusuke blinked, 'He's gone. I can't sense him anymore.'

His eyes narrowed and he kept a sharp look-out for a few moments, but the demon did not come back. Yusuke cursed under his breath and let the spirit energy in his finger die down. He walked over to Ranma, who had either gone asleep or slipped into unconsciousness, and picked her up. She dropped the pig. Yusuke looked at the dead little black pig on the ground for a few moments before sighing and picking it up, too. He walked on the way to the Tendo Dojo, 'Definitely a weird place. What is this guy doing carrying around a dead pig for? Unless...'

Yusuke looked at the pig under his arm closely, '...Nah. What am I thinking? Why would Spirit World try to give a second chance at life to a pig?'

He stepped into the Tendo household and was instantly greeted by Akane who turned slightly hysterical at seeing Ranma.

"What happened, Yusuke?" Akane asked.

She took Ranma from him and frowned, "He's soaking wet..."

Yusuke shrugged, "Well, yeah. She almost drowned. What do you expect?"

Akane's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head, "Drown? But Ranma can swim!"

Yusuke started to say something until he saw Botan behind her gesturing wildly. Botan pointed to the pig, "Hide him from Akane, Yusuke!"

Casually, he hid the dead pig behind his back. He'd have to ask Botan later what was going on. He turned his gaze back towards Akane, "Swimming doesn't do anyone any good if they're being forced under the water."

"W-what?" Akane asked.

Yusuke grumbled impatiently, "In other words, something tried to drown girlie guy over there."

Akane gaped at him, "Are you serious?"

Yusuke started to cross his arms, but remembered that he was still hiding the pig behind his back, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Akane carried Ranma to the guest room and laid him on the floor. Yusuke followed and while Akane's back was turned to him, threw the pig into the closet. Akane sat on the floor a little dazed. She glanced at Yusuke and frowned, "Why are you acting so casual about it? Who tried to kill him? What happened exactly?"

"Why do you ask so many questions? It was just...," Yusuke started.

He thought for a moment, 'Eh... Do I really want to explain demons to her? Do I really want to tell her I'm a spirit detective who was, at one time, dead? Hmm. Well, she'd probably find out, eventually. What with me living here now and all...'

The concerned look on Akane's face pleaded with him. Yusuke crossed his arms and sat on the floor next to her, "A demon. It was a demon that tried to kill Ranma. Why? Don't know. As for what exactly happened, I don't really know that, either. I just saw him... her... whatever! In the water. So, I did the whole save the day rescue thing. Then, just when I was about to blow the demon into a million little demon pieces, it did this fading into the ground thing and got away."

Akane only stared at him for a while, unable to say anything. Ranma slowly opened her eyes. Akane was relieved, "Ranma!"

Ranma looked at her for one moment and then turned to glare at Yusuke, "You... What happened to that creature?"

"It got away," Yusuke said.

Ranma growled and sat up, "You let it get away?"

Yusuke shrugged nonchalantly, "If you want to blame it on me, go ahead. At least I wasn't the weakling who had to be rescued."

"I am NOT weak! I didn't ask for your help! I would've gotten out of the water myself!" Ranma said.

Yusuke smirked mockingly at her, "Yeah. I believe that."

Ranma stood, "I'm a great fighter! I'll prove it to you! Outside... right now! And no falling asleep this time!"

"Guys...," Akane began.

"Stay out of this, Akane! This is between me and him!" Ranma declared.

She ran into the bathroom and poured some hot water on herself, changing back into a guy. He was then followed outside by Yusuke. The Tendo household gathered around to watch. Nabiki sighed, "Its such a shame this couldn't have happened outside of Furinkan High..."

Akane glared at her momentarily and then glanced back outside, 'I have a bad feeling about this. Ranma might still be exhausted... And Yusuke, he can hold his own in a fight apparently. But just because he beat me doesn't mean he's any match for Ranma. Yusuke is younger... he might not have as much experience.'

Ranma stood in his fighting stance and waited for Yusuke to do the same. Yusuke stood with his arms uncrossed, but didn't make any move to get into a fighting stance. Ranma grew frustrated with waiting, "Hey! Aren't you going to get into a fighting stance?"

Yusuke looked only slightly puzzled, "Fighting stance?"

Ranma gritted his teeth, 'Don't tell me this punk doesn't even...'

"Ranma! Yusuke doesn't know any Martial Arts! He street fights!" Akane told him.

Ranma grinned, 'Well, I guess that puts me at an advantage. He's probably all talk.'

"Don't think I'll go easy on you! You've ticked me off too much for that!" he shouted to Yusuke.

"Whatever! Just get on with it already," Yusuke said.

Ranma rushed at Yusuke, starting off with a couple of punches and a few kicks. Yusuke let one of the punches hit him to get a feel for how strong Ranma was. The punch stung his cheek.

'Stronger than Akane, at least. Maybe I can have some fun,' Yusuke thought.

He dodged the other punches and blocked one of the kicks. A few kicks got him in the side. Yusuke winced slightly, 'Hmm. Pretty fast.'

He slammed his fist into Ranma's abdomen. Ranma got the breath knocked out of him, but didn't let the punch stop his movement. He grabbed Yusuke's arm and threw him behind him. Yusuke in turn grabbed Ranma and dragged him into the throw. The two of them ended up in the pond near the house. Yusuke came up first and pulled himself out of the pond. Ranma, as a girl, came up and scrambled back onto land. Her outfit had became slightly undone in the pond. Yusuke reacted in a way that had been unprecedented in Nerima, "You offering me a free peep show, now?"

No one could believe that Yusuke had just said that. Ranma, for the first time in her life, felt a little self-conscious and quickly did up her shirt. She clenched her fists, "You're really going to get it, now..."

"URAMESHI!" a voice shrieked.

Yusuke paused, frowning. He knew that voice...

Sure enough, it was Kazuma Kuwabara. He did not look happy, but the menacing look on his face didn't seem quite so menacing with the kitten he was holding in his arms. Yusuke smiled, "KUWABARA! Its so good to... I mean... What are you doing here?"

"Don't talk to me like you're happy to see me, you punk! You skipped out on the fight we were suppose to have! Do you know how long it took me to find you? And now here I am... Finally, having found you... AND YOU'RE PICKING ON SOME POOR, INNOCENT GIRL! You make me sick, Urameshi!" Kuwabara said.

"Hey, what's going on here? Who are you? And hey! I'm not some poor, innocent girl!" Ranma protested.

'You got that right,' Akane thought.

"Don't worry, miss. He won't pick on you, anymore," Kuwabara said.

He gave his cat to Ranma, "Hold her while I beat the stuffing out of this jerk for you."

Ranma stared at the cat for all but a few seconds. Then, she started making a few squeaky, choking noises, "C-c-c... CAT! GET IT OFF OF ME!"

She ran around with her arms waving in the air as Ikitichi clutched onto her for dear life. Akane ran over to Ranma and took the cat from her, getting a good distance away before Ranma finally calmed down enough to speak sensibly. But Kuwabara and Yusuke had already started fighting and were too focused in what they were doing to pay attention to her.

"Hey! This is suppose to be my fight! Don't ignore me! HEY! I'm talking here!" Ranma shouted.

"I don't think they're listening, Ranma," Akane said.

Ranma narrowed her eyes and backed up a little, "Just keep away from me, Akane."

Akane sweatdropped and Ikitichi looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Meow?"

Akane smiled, "What an adorable cat you are."

Kuwabara jumped away from a powerful punch delivered by Yusuke. He grinned, "I've gotten a lot better since the last time we sparred, Urameshi. I've been working on a couple of techniques."

Yusuke frowned, "Talk, talk. Why don't you show me these new techniques of yours?"

"I will!" Kuwabara shouted.

He summoned two spirit swords in his hands, shocking nearly everyone present. Ranma stared in awe, 'That's... I HAVE TO LEARN THAT TECHNIQUE!'

'Where'd he learn to do that? Who is this guy?' Akane wondered.

"I've never seen anything like it before, Tendo," Genma said.

"Me either, Saotome," Soun replied.

"Spirit Scissor Cut!" Kuwabara shouted.

He came at Yusuke wielding the spirit swords like in a cross like a pair of scissors. Yusuke jumped about to avoid being cut by the spirit swords. He jumped onto the outer wall of the Tendo dojo and aimed his index finger at Kuwabara, "SPIRIT..."

"RANMA!"

Yusuke was suddenly thrown onto the ground and flattened by a bicycle. He laid there twitching on the ground. He was so focused on the fight he hadn't noticed the ringing of the bicycle's bell. Kuwabara's spirit swords faded and he stared in disbelief at the Chinese girl who rode the bicycle. Shampoo looked down at Yusuke, got off her bicycle, and then moved it.

"Ooops. Sorry. No see you there," she said.

Yusuke stood and rubbed the tire marks off his face. He closed his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to look as tough as possible to make up for the embarrassing incident. Shampoo ran over to Ranma with a container of ramen, "Airen, where you be all day? I look, but no find you. Until now. Shampoo make too too delicious ramen just for you!"

"Uhh... Shampoo. Now's not a good time. We have... uhh... company over! See!" Ranma said.

She pointed to Kuwabara. Kuwabara blinked. Shampoo looked at him and then back at Ranma with a puzzled expression on her face, "You want Shampoo kill Ugly Face for you?"

Kuwabara narrowed his eyes, 'Hey, I'm not ugly...'

He kept silent, though because he didn't want to sound rude to a lady. Ranma slapped her forehead, "No! Listen, I..."

"RANMA! How sweet!"

Happosai, appearing seemingly from nowhere, dropped his bag of women's underwear and latched onto Ranma's bosom. He started rubbing his nose to her, "You changed into a girl just for..."

Ranma tensed and punched the old man off of her, "GET OFF ME, YOU FREAK!"

Kuwabara started to step in to protect the "poor, innocent girl's honor", but Yusuke stopped him. His eyebrow twitched as he put his hand on Kuwabara's shoulder, "Let's go inside."

"What? But we still gotta fight!" Kuwabara said.

"It's too crazy out here to do anything. Trust me," Yusuke said.

He walked inside with Kuwabara coming in after him. Akane turned her attention away from Ranma, Shampoo, and Happosai. She stood and followed the two boys with the cat still in her arms. Yusuke went inside the guest room and sat on the floor. Kuwabara sat in front of him.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm here," Yusuke muttered.

"Yeah. It's not like you to skip out on a fight, Urameshi. I still got to beat you, you know," Kuwabara said.

Yusuke smirked, "Like that'll ever happen."

"Oh, it will, someday, Urameshi. You better watch your back," Kuwabara said, crossing his arms.

Yusuke grinned, "Much as I hate to admit it, it's good to be talking to you again, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara glanced at Yusuke and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay."

"Detective, if you're done with the emotional greeting, would you get on with why you're here?"

Yusuke blinked and looked around, spotting Hiei in the back corner of the room. He blinked a couple of more times, "Hiei? When did you get here?"

"I've been here," Hiei said.

Akane stood in the doorway, staring at not one, but two strangers in her home, "I'd like to know why you are in my house. And why this guy attacked my younger half-brother..."

Kuwabara choked, "Younger half-brother?"

Hiei's eyes widened momentarily in surprise, but it was only a second before he returned to being cool and collected. Yusuke looked from his friends to his half-sister. He shrugged in a nonchalant kind a way, "All right. Akane meet my friends, Kuwabara and Hiei. Kuwabara and Hiei meet my older sister Akane."

The group of three glanced at each other then turned their gaze back to Yusuke. Hiei was scowling, "I'm no friend of yours."

Yusuke smirked and shrugged again, "Okay. You're my acquaintance, then."

Hiei said nothing in response. Akane relaxed a little and sat next to Yusuke, "Okay. So long as you know them..."

Yusuke began to relay to his friend and "acquaintance" just what had happened to him in the time that he had been absent from his home city. Kuwabara sat shaking his head in disbelief, "Crazy stuff. Urameshi, you know you're going to have to explain all of this to Kayko, right? She's been worried sick about you. You could've at least called her."

"Get off my case, Kuwabara! I was going to call her," Yusuke said.

'Well, I would've if I hadn't forgot her phone number,' he thought.

'Pathetic,' Hiei told him.

'Get out of my head, Hiei,' Yusuke thought.

A sly look appeared on Akane's face, "Kayko, huh? Is she your girlfriend?"

Yusuke was caught off guard for a moment. He started to say something, but Kuwabara cut him off.

"Kayko and Urameshi here have known each other since they were little kids. Since they've grown I'd definitely say they got the hots for each other."

Yusuke glared at Kuwabara, "You're a real big mouth, you know that?"

"Yeah, and you're a real punk, Urameshi. You still haven't told me why you were picking a fight with that helpless...," Kuwabara began.

Ranma, now in boy-form and soaking wet, opened the door and searched around frantically. He totally ignored the two strangers.

"It took me forever to get away from Shampoo. I just can't believe this! I lost him. I can't lose him. He was counting on me...," Ranma muttered.

He paused for a moment and glanced at Akane. He smiled charmingly, "Ah, Akane! Hello! How ya doin'?"

"What are you looking for, Ranma?" Akane asked.

Ranma frowned, "Uhh... well. Uhh..."

He finally noticed Kuwabara and Hiei. He quickly diverted all attention to them, "Hey! Who are those guys?"

Akane started to say something, but yet another interruption came barreling in through the room. Happosai poured a bucket of cold water onto Ranma and held up a bra, "Come on! Put it on! Put it on!"

Ranma changed into a girl right in front of everyone. Kuwabara and even Hiei gaped openly. It took a few minutes for Hiei to recover, but Kuwabara hadn't ceased at gawking over what just happened.

"He... Urameshi! What's going on with the water around here? That guy just changed into that... Hey! Isn't that the girl you were picking on?" Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke felt a headache coming on, 'I hate this place... I hate this place...'

The black creature fidgeted nervously in the surrounding darkness, "You didn't tell me that the spirit detective was going to be there. I'm not powerful enough to stand up against him..."

A sigh, "So, you didn't kill anyone is that it? Not even that moronic high school student wielding the wooden sword?"

"Well, uhh... You see, I was going to, but I was threatened," the black creature said.

"By the spirit detective?"

"No. By a being like you, sir."

"Like... Oh. Him. So he's going to be a problem, afterall."

"What should I do? That spirit detective is going to be on guard, now. I'm not going to be able to get near anyone."

"You aren't going to do anything. I'm just going to have to come up with a different plan. I have... no use for you."

"W-what? G-g...ack."

And the black creature was no more.

(Author's Note: Sorry for the long period of not updating this fanfiction from the last chapter. I had some internet problems. But they're fixed, now. So... to make up for it. I'm going to give you this chapter! Without even a month of waiting for it:) )


	10. Humiliation and Ranma's Persistence

Yusuke took a deep breath of the city air, 'It's good to be back.'

All the explanations that had been made just a few days before had really wore him down. Of course, there were a few things he left out. He had never gotten around to telling anyone in Nerima about his job as spirit detective. It just didn't seem like the right time... with all the chaos that went on. Ranma seemed pretty persistent in trying to figure out his and Kuwabara's spirit energy attacks, though. It was as if he had completely forgotten about wanting to fight him.

'Shame. He was more interested in finding the pig, too. I guess I could understand after what Botan told me about that pig... Him and Ranma must have been good friends,' he thought.

He frowned, remembering how worried Botan was when he told her about the creature that had attacked Ranma.

_"It could be a sign that something really big is going on, Yusuke."_

_"Yeah? So what do you want me to do?"_

_"I'm not really sure right now. I think just your showing up here has caused something of a shake up in whatever was going down. The demon obviously knew you were a force to be reckoned with and that's why it ran away. Who or whatever it's working for is a different matter, entirely. For some reason, it wanted those two boys dead and maybe even more dead, for all we know. There's something else..."_

_"What?"_

_"The demon you described to me that you confronted... It sounds a lot like a very specific type of spider demon."_

_"Yeah? So?"_

_"Well, the type of spider demon I'm thinking of... has been extinct for several years. Hundreds, in fact."_

_"Well, that sure clears up a lot, Botan."_

_"Don't take that tone with me! It's as much of a mystery to me as it is to you."_

_"And because I'm the spirit detective, I'm supposed to figure everything out, right?"_

_"Oh, don't be silly, Yusuke. There's very few leads for even the most skillful detective to go on, much less you."_

_"Hey..."_

_"Sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but we might have to wait for the next move. I'm worried about you deciding to leave this place for the weekend... If that demon shows up again, who..."_

_"Hey, Hiei volunteered to stick around on watch duty. If there's anything he can't handle, I'm sure he'll invite me over to even things out a bit."_

_"Hiei? Why did he do that?"_

_"Eh, he's probably just bored. Before I came here, I was starting to get bored, too. Now, I regret ever thinking of a change in pace. In case you haven't noticed, Botan, this place is filled with crazy people and curses and all that other junk! It's been a little too out of the ordinary for me. That's why I need this break."_

_"And because you miss Kayko, hmm?"_

"Hey, Urameshi! You wanna snap out of La La Land for a while? I know my sister must sense me in the city, right now and if I don't hurry straight home she'll...," Kuwabara shouted.

Yusuke blinked and looked ahead to see Kuwabara, "Why do you let your sister beat you up?"

Kuwabara paused and his cheeks tinged red from embarrassment, anger, or both, "I don't let her beat me up..."

Yusuke smiled and nodded, catching up to Kuwabara, "So, you're just weaker than she is."

"I am not!" Kuwabara said.

Yusuke gave him a sidelong glance, "Uh-huh."

"Are you trying to start something, Urameshi? Hmph. You just don't know my sister," Kuwabara said.

"Oh, sure I do. Isn't she just a tad shorter than you, long, brown hair, and most often seen with a cigarrete hanging from her mouth? Doesn't seem very intimidating to me," Yusuke said.

Kuwabara clenched his fists, "All right! That's it! This is a fight!"

He set his cat safely on the ground a small distance away from him. punched Yusuke in the jaw. Yusuke was knocked back from the strength of the blow, but he quickly regained his footing and started to street brawl with his old friend and sparring partner.

"Yusuke! You stop that right now!"

Surprisingly, both boys stopped at the sound of the female voice and turned their head in her direction. Ikitichi meowed, alerting Kuwabara's attention to her. He picked her back up again. Kayko glared at Yusuke, making him feel uncomfortable almost immediately.

"Yusuke, you worried me sick! Where have you been? How come you haven't called?" she asked.

Yusuke straightened his hair and rubbed at his bruises. He said nothing for a while and continued the walk to the Kuwabara house.

"Yusuke? Are you going to tell me or not?" Kayko said.

A hurt tone was clearly present in her voice. Yusuke grinned at Kayko to reassure her and then frowned as he began to tell her everything he knew about what had happened in his new life in Nerima. When he finished, Kayko only seemed to look more worried.

"So... You might be going on another mission soon," she said.

"Yeah," Yusuke said.

He glanced at her, noticing how worried she was. He smiled, "Hey, don't worry. If I can handle being lectured by you, I can handle anything."

Kayko smiled softly, "You big jerk..."

They stood, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Yusuke stepped a little closer to her, 'Kayko...'

Kuwabara coughed when they reached the front of his house, "Should I... leave you two alone?"

Yusuke and Kayko lost the moment and turned to look at Kuwabara. Yusuke only cursed under his breath, "You really are asking for it..."

"You bet I am, Urameshi! You better be prepared to..." Kuwabara began.

The door suddenly swung wide open. The three adolescents were met with Shizuru. A thoroughly annoyed Shizuru. Her eyes narrowed, "Kazuma..."

Kuwabara stared at her blankly, but inwardly he was cringing. Yusuke didn't let himself look intimidated, 'Hmm. Maybe she is a little intimidating. ... To someone who isn't me.'

"You were suppose to be here... an hour ago, at least," Shizuru said quietly.

Kuwabara quickly shot a glare at Yusuke before returning his eyes back to his sister. Shizuru grabbed her brother by the collar of his shirt and pulled him inside. Almost immediately, she gave him a long list of chores to do. Kuwabara set his cat down and set to work right away, all the while muttering obscenities under his breath when he thought his sister was out of earshot. Yusuke and Kayko blinked when Shizuru's expression switched in a single second from dangerous to impassive, "You two going to stand in the doorway all day?"

Wordlessly, they went inside and sat down when Shizuru gestured for them to. Yusuke watched as Kuwabara scrambled from place to place doing various tasks. He started to open his mouth to get in a few good insults, but then he saw the dangerous expression back on Shizuru's face again. In response, he crossed his arms and smirked. The expressionless look came back to her face, "You'll be staying with us, then."

Yusuke nodded and shrugged carelessly to indicate that he didn't want some dumb explanation as to how she was able to figure that out, "Only for a little while. I can only stand being around the UGLY, SPINELESS, CLEANING WEAKLING... Oh. Oops. Did I say that out loud? I meant... Kuwabara."

The smirk on his face grew. He could just hear Kuwabara's nerves grinding together. Kuwabara rushed out of the kitchen, holding a broom in his hands. He held it high in the air, looming over Yusuke, "URAMESHI, YOU BRAINLESS NARCISSISTIC GOOD FOR NOTH---..."

Kayko stood, glaring at Yusuke, "Yusuke, how could you say those things to Kuwabara?"

Yusuke didn't look like he was paying attention to Kayko or Kuwabara who was angry that Kayko had interrupted his "truthful list of Urameshi's character traits". Yusuke stared at them cluelessly, 'Nar... Narciss... Sheesh. What kind of word is that? What does it mean? I bet he made it up. Ha! Who is he calling brainless? He can't even come up with real words for his insults! He has to make one up!'

The arrogant smirk returned to Yusuke's face until he finally noticed Kayko's piercing eyes on him. Yusuke, having not had enough fun from just getting on Kuwabara's nerves, did not back down. The smirk didn't leave, "Ah, Kayko, usually, I'd be pretending to listen to what you're saying to me. But when you get angry like that, your breasts heave up and down... It's REALLY distracting."

**_SMACK!_**

Yusuke rubbed at his cheek from where Kayko hit him. The smack had definitely tore the smirk off his face, but it was only replaced minutes later by a grin. Kayko grumbled, "Honestly, Yusuke..."

"Punk had it coming," Kuwabara muttered, lowering his broom.

Shizuru watched the entire exchange as the perfect picture of neutrality. She glanced at her brother, "Get back to work."

Kuwabara grumbled his protests, but they had no real fight to them. He headed back into the kitchen. Shizuru glanced back at Yusuke, who was still in the mind of causing more trouble, "Your mother gave you full permission to stay here, right?"

Yusuke put his hands behind his head and nodded, "Yep."

"That means she's left you in my care," Shizuru said.

Yusuke looked at her questioningly, "Uhh... Yeah."

"She has put your well-being into my capable, competent hands... The responsibility of giving you food and shelter for a couple of days. As well, as to ensure that you stay out of trouble," Shizuru said.

Yusuke nodded dumbly, 'Gee... Wonder where she's going with this?'

He blinked as he saw a strange smile suddenly appear on Shizuru's face, 'I don't think I like that look on her face...'

"I have to get going, Yusuke. I don't want my mom and dad to worry," Kayko said.

Yusuke watched Kayko stand and start to leave. He looked back at the eerie Shizuru. He turned his attention back to Kayko with just a hint of fear in his voice, "Oh, really? You can't stay a... little while longer?"

"Well, I hadn't returned home from after my visit with one of my friends. I told my parents I was on my way there. They'll be worried if I don't come home when I said I would," Kayko said.

Yusuke sighed, "Okay, okay. Well, see you later, Kayko."

'It was nice seeing you again,' he thought.

Kayko smiled, "See you, Yusuke. Be good."

She left the Kuwabara house. It was just him and Shizuru, now.

'Wait a minute. What am I afraid of? I'm Yusuke Urameshi, the biggest, baddest, punk around! I'm not afraid of...,' Yusuke thought.

Shizuru handed him a list of chores. Yusuke didn't bother looking at the list, "Hmph."

Her eyes narrowed, "You're staying here for the weekend. The least you can do is some work around here."

Yusuke eyed the long list warily, "You're nuts if you think I'm going to do all of this and not expect some kind of payment out of it."

Kuwabara eavesdropped on them from inside the kitchen, 'Heh, heh. You don't talk to my sister like that, Urameshi.'

Shizuru growled and pulled Yusuke up from the couch by his arm. Yusuke shook his arm out of her grip, "Don't touch me."

"You think you're such a punk, don't you?" Shizuru said.

Yusuke crossed his arms, "As a matter of fact, I do."

"I have ways of dealing with punks," Shizuru said.

Yusuke rose an eyebrow, "Oh, yeah?"

Shizuru cracked her knuckles, "Yeah."

Yusuke laughed, "I'm not afraid of you. And don't think you'll get away with hitting me, either."

"Oh no. I only hit punks who annoy me. I have something much better in store for you," Shizuru said.

* * *

Yusuke couldn't remember exactly how it happened. He couldn't even remember the struggle. By the looks of the place, it didn't really look like he had struggled at all. But he had to have! There was no way he'd just stand around and let someone get away with...

"BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Urameshi, you look... ridicilous!" Kuwabara laughed.

Yusuke looked down at the French maid outfit he was wearing with hate burning in his eyes, "Shut up, Kuwabara."

Trying to tear the outfit off of him so far hadn't worked. It was as if the more he tried to get it off, the more the outfit clung to him. He went about dusting the living room, grumbling under his breath, "I can't believe this..."

"Well, Urameshi. It's not like I hadn't warned you about my sister," Kuwabara said.

Yusuke looked down at the outfit he was wearing again and glanced at Kuwabara, "Has she made you wear this, too?"

Kuwabara shook his head, "Nah. She never had to put me in that thing. She's been... disciplining me since I was young."

Yusuke sighed, 'This is going to be a loooong weekend.'

* * *

Hiei sat in the tree outside of the Tendo Dojo. So far, those that had witnessed him inside the dojo a few days ago had automatically assumed he had left to wherever he came from. No one had even suspected his presence amongst the tree's branches. Occasionally, he would leave the tree to scout Nerima for anything more unusual than what was considered "normal", but never found anything. There were times he had almost been discovered, much as he hated to admit it. First, there was that time the dark-haired girl with a quick temper had thrown the big-mouthed pig-tailed boy/girl out the window. Hiei had to do some quick manuevering to avoid being slammed into by the strange human martial artist.

Then, there was that time when he had been scouting the city that the practically blind human that turned into a duck had been trying to use his hidden weapons to kidnap someone. Hiei had almost been that kidnapped someone, but again his speed saved him. And all Hiei wanted to do was forget the other time. The time when that curious, but highly irritating little old man had used his head as a spring board. Luckily, the old man hadn't thought anything of the spring board. Apparently, thanks to his hairstyle, the old man thought he was some kind of shrub...

But it had been too close. Not to mention humiliating. If Hiei hadn't been forbidden to kill humans, he'd have already done away with the idiotic old man. Hiei crossed his arms and sighed irritably, 'Detective, this place you live in now has got to be home to the craziest bunch of stupid humans I have ever seen. You fit right in.'

"Hey. Aren't you that... uhh... Hiei guy?"

Hiei blinked for a few moments and turned his head to see Ranma in the branch next to him, sporting a rather large bruise on the top of his pig-tailed head. Hiei cursed mentally, 'I need to remember not to underestimate some humans. This one does have a rather developed sense of spirit energy than most humans. Not that it's saying much.'

Ranma poked at Hiei with a stick, "You don't talk much, do you?"

Hiei's eyebrow twitched, "Do you want to die, human?"

Ranma stopped poking Hiei for a moment, "Human?"

He looked at Hiei closely, 'What does he mean by that? He's human, too! ... At least... he looks human.'

Hiei ignored Ranma's presence, 'Not that it matters that he's found me. I just wanted to be left alone. But if he continues to bother me, I could just cut his arm off. It's not killing.'

Ranma rubbed at his bruise, "So, you related?"

Hiei glanced at him questioningly before deciding to ignore him again.

"To Yusuke, I mean."

"No. Go away, human. Before you make me angry," Hiei said.

Ranma completely ignored the last part of Hiei's statement, "Good, good. So... umm... You guys all seem pretty close. I mean, like friends... You look like you'd know some of those techniques they were using in that fight a few days back."

"Fool."

Ranma pressed on, "I've been trying to figure them out, but I haven't gotten very far. Maybe... you could... train me?"

Hiei unsheathed his sword, "No."

He glared at Ranma for a moment and then sheathed his sword, grumbling, "Not even worth my time."

Ranma waved his arms a bit, "No, no! I'd be worth it! Really! Come on, you don't know what I'm capable of!"

Hiei growled, "Do not insult my intelligence, human. I KNOW perfectly well what you're capable of."

His Jagan eye glowed from underneath his white bandanna. Ranma was awed by the glowing for a moment, "Whoa... What you got underneath there?"

He unconsciously reached for the bandanna...

And then he felt Hiei's cold blade touch his neck ever so slightly. Ranma stood perfectly frozen, "Uhh... On second thought, I wasn't really that interested in what was under there, anyway."

Hiei narrowed his eyes, "Leave me, human."

Ranma's eyes shone with determination even under the threat of having his head chopped off, "No. You have to teach me how to do those techniques!"

Hiei blinked in surprise, 'Brave or stupid?'

He sheathed his sword, 'Definitely stupid. Still, a very strange human...'

"Why do you want to learn them so badly?"

"So I can be stronger. The strongest!" Ranma exclaimed.

Hiei snorted, 'Hmph. Foolish human. Power is sought only by the weak.'

Ranma noticed how displeased Hiei was at his answer. He looked around and sighed hesitantly, "And... uhh... I want to be able to protect... Ak... The ones I... care about."

Hiei studied him for a moment, 'Sincere. A moron for not admitting it in the first place.'

"It's not my place."

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Ranma asked.

"Ask the detective."

Ranma looked confused, "Detective?"

Hiei grumbled in disgust, "Yusuke."

"Him? Detective? What?" Ranma mumbled.

Hiei grew tired of his nonsensical babbling and leapt from the tree, running off at speeds Ranma couldn't even comprehend.

'Whoa. He's fast. I gotta learn those techniques... When that jerk Yusuke comes back, he has some questions to answer,' he thought.


	11. Mousse and Ryouga's Dilenma

Mousse sighed in frustration as he cleaned the tables of the Cat Café. He was looking pretty beat up and he had yet to take a shower to clean himself of sweat, dirt, and blood. With helping out at the restaurant, chasing Shampoo, and trying to defeat and/or kill Ranma, he hardly had found the time to train. That morning he had tried to make up for lost time. He actually felt himself getting a little stronger...

But then while he was training with one of his chain weapons with a clamp at the end of it, he snagged it inside a bush and when he pulled it out the clamp had been cut off. Mousse put the cloth he was cleaning with away and took out a broom from the broom closet, 'Kind of funny, though. That cut was pretty clean... and my chains aren't easily broken. Hmm.'

His mind wandered back to his training in a secluded spot in Nerima. Ranma had shown up and as usual, Mousse had jumped at the chance at trying to beat him. Unfortunately, he hadn't improved that much from a relatively small training period and was quickly beaten. The last thing he heard Ranma say before he went out cold from that battle was, "There has to be someone besides that punk Yusuke who can teach me those techniques..."

Much as Mousse hated to admit it, that single statement had him worried. Ranma was already stronger than him, but for him to get even stronger and with an even wider range of techniques, Mousse wouldn't stand a chance. Shampoo would be lost to him. He couldn't let that happen.

'I have to get stronger somehow. Ohh... Curse that old ghoul for teaching him so much!' he thought.

He noticed a package sitting on the counter that he hadn't noticed before. He blinked and approached the counter. He picked up the package, 'Hmm. For Mousse. Doesn't say who it's from...'

His eyes glazed over for a moment as his heart lifted high in hope, 'Could it be from Shampoo? Has she finally figured out her feelings for me?'

He opened the package eagerly and found a box of teriyaki. His stomach rumbled, 'Well, after that training and fight with Ranma I am pretty hungry. Oh, Shampoo... This is so considerate of you.'

He ate happily. The teriyaki was the most delicious he had ever tasted, yet...

'Something tastes... a little strange. It's so good, but...' Mousse pondered.

He thought carefully as he plopped another one into his mouth, 'Shampoo wouldn't poison me...'

He chewed slowly feeling a little suspicious of what he was eating. He couldn't be sure it really was from Shampoo and with all the unusual spices there were around the restaurant, it helped that he had knowledge of when food had been "tainted". He spit the teriyaki he had in his mouth out and threw what little of the teriyaki there was left out. He cursed silently to himself, realizing that he came to his conclusion a little too late. He already had a significant amount of the poisoned food in his system, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm SO stupid!'

Mousse ran into the kitchen and began searching the contents of each and every last spice that could be used as a poison. Everything checked out. Neither Shampoo nor Cologne could've poisoned him. He wasn't sure what kind of poison was circulating through him, whether it was lethal or not and what the antidote could be. He needed help. He bolted out of the kitchen and started to exit the restaurant, having almost run over the diminuitive form of Cologne. He sighed in relief at seeing her, "You have to help me, I..."

Cologne looked up at him and groaned softly, "You've been poisoned."

Mousse didn't question the old one's ways and nodded, "Yes, I..."

"It's not lethal. Look, boy, I don't have the time to sort this mess out. Orders for delivery are being made left and right. Shampoo and I have our hands full. An extra hand would've been nice, but you just had to get yourself poisoned. So, now I'm working overtime. I'll help you later if I have the time. But for now... Move it," Cologne said.

She hopped swiftly to the counter and picked up several delivery cases of ramen. Mousse started to say something, but feeling a sudden and horrible bout of illness was unable to say anything. Cologne glared at him, "Not in the restaurant, you fool!"

She carefully balanced the ramen and using her staff knocked Mousse out the backdoor where he promptly threw up.

"Uggggghhhh..."

Cologne took off to make the deliveries. Mousse's stomach lurched again, 'What did I do to deserve this? It might take her hours before her hands are free... What am I going to do?'

He needed to lie down, but not wanting to end up getting hit with the staff again when Cologne came back and found out that he had thrown up in the restaurant, would have to find somewhere else. He wandered miserably through the streets of Nerima, sick, weak, still dirty, and tired. He'd probably have been hungry, too if the poison hadn't killed his appetite. The spirit of Ryouga looked down at Mousse, 'He looks like he's in pretty bad shape...'

Botan cringed as she witnessed the Chinese boy throw up, "Ryouga, I think he needs a doctor. You could..."

"Help him? I don't know, Botan. I don't like this guy," Ryouga muttered.

Botan looked at him curiously, "Oh? Why not?"

"Because he put Akane in danger more than just a couple of times! And he's a coward! A chicken! And every time, I thought he was helping me, he wasn't! He was just using me to help himself!" Ryouga said.

Mousse fell to the ground unconscious from exerting himself while he was sick from the poison. Botan looked back at Ryouga and sighed, "Well, it's up to you."

Ryouga floated down to Mousse and glared at him, thinking, 'Why should I help him? He's never really helped me.'

The egg tinged a faint red for a moment, unbeknownst to Ryouga. He frowned, 'He does look pretty lonely lying there, though... I wonder how come that Shampoo girl he likes so much isn't helping him?'

He thought for a moment, 'Oh... She doesn't really like him, does she? Come to think of it, nobody really likes him...'

Botan watched him silently as several expressions crossed his face: anger, consideration, and... sadness? Sympathy...

"I know what it's like to not have any friends. To be all alone," Ryouga whispered.

'I could be your friend. When I come back to life... Maybe you can change for the better,' he thought.

The red tinge from the spirit beast egg vanished. Ryouga possessed Mousse's unconscious body. He looked up at Botan, "Uhh... Could you..."

Botan wiped some small tears from her eyes and smiled, "Sure thing, Ryouga!"

She guided him to Dr. Tofu's clinic. Ryouga glanced at her, "Were you crying?"

A sweatdrop ran down the back of Botan's head and she smiled sheepishly, "No, I... Well, all right. Maybe just a little. It's just... sad... what you said back there."

"Sorry."

Botan waved her hands, "Oh no, don't be."

Ryouga stopped at the clinic, "It's not really that sad, you know. I mean, it couldn't be any worse than what you have to go through. Guiding the spirits of the dead... I don't think I could do that. And you're always so cheerful..."

Botan's face fell, 'You have no idea...'

Ryouga didn't have the opportunity to say anymore when Dr. Tofu came out of the medical room. His last patient left the clinic. Dr. Tofu looked at Mousse and smiled slightly, "Hey, there."

'Finally, he's here... Wait a minute. Mousse... He's unconscious. Hmm...'

Ryouga didn't seem to notice the sudden look of suspicion that appeared on Dr. Tofu's face, "Doctor, he... I don't feel so good."

Dr. Tofu nodded, "Yes, I gathered as much..."

Ryouga was unprepared for what happened next. Dr. Tofu had grabbed a small white bottle lying on the top of his bookshelf and had splashed the contents onto him. Mousse's human body transformed into a duck and Ryouga was forced out of him. He was somewhat shocked to find that his spirit had suddenly turned into a little black pig. Botan stared at Ryouga, shocked and confused, "That is very odd. How can your curse carry on to the..."

Dr. Tofu bowed, "I bear you no ill will, spirit. I know you have no malicious intent, but you need to move on. Find peace and rest easy."

Ryouga blinked and snorted piggie noises at Botan, 'Oh... I can't speak.'

"Don't worry about it, Ryouga. He can't see you, I know. This doctor... He has a highly developed aura of spirit energy. He could probably sense your presence in that boy."

Ryouga gestured with his hooves unhappily. Botan sweatdropped as she tried to decipher what he was trying to say. She guessed he was wondering why he had just transformed, "I honestly don't know how you got like that, Ryouga. I think it has something to do with the water he splashed on you."

Botan thought for a moment as she studied the white bottle carefully, "Ah... Holy water. Well, I guess that explains it. Because you're a spirit, ordinary water would have no effect on you. You would stay in your normal form and in essence be curse-free. But holy water is no ordinary water. It can come in direct contact with a spirit. A weak, evil spirit usually suffers severe damage from coming in contact with holy water. Good spirits usually have nothing to fear from holy water except for getting soaked and possibly catching a cold..."

Ryouga blinked several times. Botan giggled to herself, imagining what he was thinking, "Yes, spirits can catch colds. But that's about all they can catch. Spirits possessing bodies are immediately expelled from the body when splashed with holy water and I believe that was what Dr. Tofu was intending. However, when the holy water splashed you, not only did it expel you from the body, but it also reactivated your curse. But... I think I can fix that."

Botan looked around and was satisfied to find that Dr. Tofu had gone to fetch some hot water to change Mousse back to normal. Casually, she transferred herself from the spirit to the living and grabbed the white bottle. She heated it up with some spirit energy and then threw it onto Ryouga's spirit. Ryouga was back to normal, much to his relief, "Thanks a lot, Botan. I thought I was going to be stuck like that, forever."

Botan smiled and then gasped as she looked at Ryouga's spirit beast egg. Ryouga followed her shocked gaze to the egg. It was glowing golden and there was a small crack in it. Ryouga gaped, "Ah no! MY EGG! It's cracked! I'm never going to come back to life! My life... IT'S OVER! I'll never see..."

"Err, Ryouga...," Botan began.

"Why do all the bad things happen to me? Just when I thought my luck was finally changing!" Ryouga wailed.

The egg glowed more intensely and cracked in a few more places. Botan sweatdropped and shoved the egg into Ryouga's hands, "Ryouga!"

"Now, I'll never get to tell Aka..."

He was suddenly overwhelmed by a bright golden light. The egg had hatched.

Botan spoke softly through the light, "Good luck..."

* * *

Mousse groaned softly.

_He does look pretty lonely lying there..._

His mind was clouded in darkness and even in his semi-conscious state he knew that the voice was... out of place.

_I wonder how come that Shampoo girl he likes so much isn't helping him? Oh... She doesn't really like him, does she? Come to think of it, nobody really likes him._

'H-huh? What's that voice? Have I gone insane? What does it mean nobody likes me?'

_I know what it's like to not have any friends._

Mousse's thoughts halted for a moment. The words from the voice echoed in his mind a little while.

'I... That voice. It's... right. I've spent so much time chasing Shampoo. I didn't even think about making friends.'

_To be all alone._

'But I don't think... I'm not...'

_All alone..._

'Stop it! Shut up! I... I don't want to be alone...'

The echoing of those two heart-wrenching words drove Mousse mad.

'Shut up, shut up, shut up! I... I can't believe this... I'm talking back to a voice in my head. I really have gone insane...'

He felt so sick and at that time, he wasn't entirely too sure it was all from the poison.

_Alone..._

Mousse hadn't fully come to, but he was briefly aware of a few tears that had fallen from his closed eyes.

_I could be your friend._

'Be friends with a strange voice in MY head?'

_When I come back to life..._

'Wait a minute. What? Am I... channeling someone? Who is this? What do you want?'

He didn't receive an answer and like what the voice had previously said it was repeated in his mind. It frustrated him to no end. And the last words he heard from the voice before he was conscious...

_Maybe you can change for the better._

'Change... how?' Mousse wondered.

His eyes shot open and he was instantly met with intense nausea. Dr. Tofu handed him a waste basket. Mousse threw up in it. As soon as he had finished, Dr. Tofu put it down and greeted him, "Hey, there. Mousse, right?"

Mousse glanced at Dr. Tofu dazedly, "Y-yeah. I'm Mousse. Where... am I? The last thing I remember I had passed out on the ground."

"Well, I am Dr. Tofu and you're at my clinic. As for how you got here, a concerned soul found you and took you to me," he said.

"Oh. Do you know who it was?" Mousse asked.

Dr. Tofu smiled, "No. That person had left."

"Too bad. Listen... umm... doctor? Would you mind if I stayed here a while? I'm not feeling very well and I don't have a place where I can rest," Mousse said.

Dr. Tofu frowned, 'He doesn't have a place? What about that place where he... works? That doesn't necessarily means he stays there as well. ...'

A feeling of guilt found itself resting in his stomach and he smiled uneasily, "Of course! Stay here as long as you like!"

Mousse sighed and laid on the bed, "Thanks..."

Dr. Tofu studied his new patient carefully, 'He doesn't seem like a bad young man, but... Kidnapping... and Kasumi... That's wrong. I wonder if he feels guilty for what he's done?'

He waited for Mousse to again finish throwing up. He knew Mousse was poisoned and with the very poison that boy had given Ranma. He knew because he was the one who had set it all up to make sure that Kasumi's kidnapper didn't go unpunished.

"I had a patient in here a few days ago. She had to stay for a while, too. Apparently, someone had kidnapped her... held her for ransom even, I think. Something the kidnapper had used caused her to have an allergic reaction. It was pretty severe."

He watched a flash of guilt cross Mousse's features. Mousse was sincerely concerned, "Is she... all right?"

"Oh, yes. She's doing fine, now. She was lucky that she got here as quick as she did. She could've... died, otherwise," Dr. Tofu said.

Knots formed inside of Mousse, serving to make his nausea worse. He grabbed the waste basket at the side of his bed and threw up again. Involuntarily, tears streamed down his cheeks as his guilt overwhelmed him, 'What if she had died?'

Dr. Tofu sat on the side of the bed, "Kidnapping is wrong. Poor young woman. She's such a nice, caring individual. It really makes my blood run cold. The thought that someone could be so heartless to even think of causing her such grief."

Mousse rubbed at his eyes as discreetly as he could, "Sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Dr. Tofu played innocent, "Oh, don't be sorry. You can't help that you're sick. I could get you something..."

Mousse got up shakily, "No. I don't deserve your kindness. I was the one... I kidnapped that woman. I was the one... who almost got her killed. I... I didn't mean for it to go so far... I..."

He ran towards the window, ready to make his exit. Dr. Tofu stopped him, grabbing him by the wrist. He turned Mousse to face him, "No. Stay. Your pain shows that you are truly not a heartless person. I want you to talk with me a while."

Mousse choked back a few sobs, not wanting to look unmanly in front of a complete stranger. He nodded slowly and returned to the bed. Dr. Tofu grabbed a heavily sealed bowl from off the edge of one of his sinks, "But first, I want you to eat this. It'll make you feel better."

Mousse looked at the bowl and a hint of recognition of it's contents. Everything clicked, "That's the antidote to the poison."

"Yes."

"The same poison I used on Ranma."

"It's karma."

Mousse sighed and his stomach felt weak again, "You poisoned me, didn't you?"

Dr. Tofu nodded, "Yes, but I promise I had full intention of curing you of it afterwards."

"I believe you. I deserved this," Mousse said.

Dr. Tofu protected himself against the smell of the antidote and gave a spoon to Mousse. Mousse groaned softly and forced himself to eat the bowl. Dr. Tofu started working on a few pressure points on Mousse's body, "To prevent you from going unconscious. You've done enough of that for one day."

"Thank you."

Mousse finished off the bowl, having only gagged five times. The stuff really did taste horrible. He felt a lot better than he had before, though.

"Tell me why you did it."

Mousse looked over at Dr. Tofu, "Well... it all started when Yusuke broke my glasses. He punched me in the face! For no good reason at all! Sure, I had thought he was Ranma at the time, but I hadn't actually attacked him yet!"

Dr. Tofu listened, nodding his head, "Well, that Yusuke seems to be quite the ruffian, but he does have a good heart. He was the one who brought... Kasumi... here."

Mousse didn't feel as angry at the "Tendo boy" as he had before, "It costs a lot of money for me to replace my glasses. They usually hold up pretty good and I'm always careful when I'm wearing them in battle. I just... hadn't expected Yusuke to do that, so I couldn't dodge in time."

Dr. Tofu thought for a moment, "But you work at that restaurant, don't you? Surely, you could've..."

"Well, I... don't get paid," Mousse began.

Dr. Tofu blinked in surprise, "What? You don't get paid? But that's... that's like slavery!"

Mousse looked a little offended, "Hey! I'm not a slave! I'm a warrior! I..."

He calmed down a little bit, remembering where he was and figuring that Dr. Tofu might not know that much about Chinese Amazons. He sighed, "I get to stay at the Cat Café for working there. It's... free room and board. Sometimes, if I have the time, I'll do extra things... like work at a circus for money. I usually spend that on gifts for Shampoo and weapons. I didn't have any money on me and I'm as bli..."

He crossed his arms and grumbled, "I can barely see anything without my glasses. I have an extra, extra strong prescription. Which is why they cost so much."

"So, you held Kasumi for ransom," Dr. Tofu said.

"Well, actually... I was going to kidnap Yusuke's mother, but since I didn't have my glasses on, I ended up kidnapping... Kasumi. I wasn't really thinking about it at the time, I guess. I mean, I figured all was fair. Yusuke was the one who broke my glasses, afterall. It's only right that he should pay for them," Mousse told him.

"But two wrongs don't make a right," Dr. Tofu replied.

Mousse sighed, "You're right. I feel horrible, but I really didn't know what else to do."

"Don't you have family that could've helped you out?" Dr. Tofu asked.

Mousse shook his head, "The entire Amazon village is my family, but... I'm... I'm not very well-liked."

"I see. Well, what about friends? I'm sure you...," Dr. Tofu started.

Mousse lowered his head sadly, "I... don't have any friends."

He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, 'I can't believe it took me this long to realize that... To realize how lonely I really am. I've been such a fool... A blind fool.'

Dr. Tofu frowned, 'So, that's it. Hmm...'

Mousse stayed silent for a while, "I'm sorry..."

Dr. Tofu pulled himself away from his thoughts, "You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should apologize to Kasumi."

Mousse nodded and sighed, getting off the bed. Dr. Tofu stopped him before he left out the door, "And Mousse... If you're ever feeling troubled, don't be afraid to stop on by and have a talk with me. You might have to wait, if I'm seeing patients, but I'm willing to listen to what you have to say."

Mousse bowed, "Thank you, Dr. Tofu. You're too kind, but... I appreciate it."

He left for the Tendo Dojo, for once not chasing after Shampoo or attempting to defeat Ranma.

* * *

Ryouga blinked to get all of the bright light out of his eyes. He felt somewhat disoriented, but after a few moments his vision cleared. He looked around him. Botan was nowhere to be found and something told him... He wasn't in Nerima anymore. He was on a long, narrow bridge surrounded by golden clouds.

The ever-so repeated cry of, "WHERE AM I NOW?" rang through the new place. Following it was a small, low grunt that hadn't come from Ryouga at all...

"YaYa..."


	12. Oh, the Bruises!

_"YaYa..."_

Ryouga cringed upon hearing another, but unfamiliar voice. He turned around slowly and gaped, "W-wha..."

In front of him stood a giant... four-legged creature. It kind of looked like a giant black dog, but it had hooves, a curly tail, and an obviously pig-shaped snout. It was much bigger than him and it certainly was a surprise that it was able to fit within the edges of the bridge. Ryouga groaned to himself, 'I'm in a weird place... with a weird creature... I sure wish Botan were here. I'm sure she'd know what was going on. Hey, wait... Where's my egg?'

"YaYa is my name," the creature said.

Ryouga blinked and just stared at the creature. It was hard enough dealing with the creature's presence as it was, but for it to be able to talk...

"I'm your egg or... I was your egg. Now, I'm your spirit beast! YaYa! The very reflection of your true self! YaYa. Your inner self," YaYa said.

"My inner self is a... Pig-dog?" Ryouga mumbled.

YaYa's amber-colored eyes flashed with fury. He snarled, showing off some very impressive canines in the process, "YAYA! Don't call me a pig!"

Ryouga sweatdropped and waved his hands in the air, "Eh heh. You're my inner self! Why would I call you a pig when it would be calling myself one in the process?"

YaYa relaxed and nodded, "Right. Good. YaYa. You got the picture. Now, let me see if I remember this right..."

"Remember what right?" Ryouga asked.

"Your ordeal, of course! YaYa. As your spirit beast, it is up to me to guide you back to the living world!" YaYa said.

"But I WAS in the living world!" Ryouga protested.

YaYa sweatdropped, "Only your spirit was in the living world. In order to come back to life, you need to be strengthed, mentally, morally, spiritually, and physically. YaYa. It's no easy task, either. In fact..."

He turned his head around and dug into his fur, as if he were biting for fleas. Then, he faced Ryouga with a book in his mouth. He dropped the book onto the bridge and started to read, "According to the _Everything You'll Ever Need to Know or Use as a Spirit Beast Guide_, out of the twenty-seven people in the entire universe since the beginning of life that have been given the opportunity to be resurrected only twelve have passed the ordeal. YaYa. Well, actually three, when you think about it because it says here that the other four unknowingly took the easy way out just by sacrificing their egg."

Ryouga sighed unhappily, 'As if being dead hasn't been hard enough...'

YaYa shook his head, "YaYa. As for the other fifteen people... Three of them got eaten by their spirit beast because their souls were too wicked. The rest failed this ordeal and were sent out in various places in Spirit World to do community service for eternity."

Ryouga winced, "Community service for eternity? No peace for them, at all? That's harsh!"

"Not all that harsh. YaYa. It just looks bad on Spirit World authorities when people fail the ordeal and it's too awkward to just pass them onto paradise. They do get breaks every millenia or so. YaYa. The work they do isn't really that hard."

'I have to pass this ordeal. I don't want to do community service for eternity,' Ryouga thought.

YaYa wagged his curly little tail, "After you're strengthened, that is when I can guide you back to the living world. YaYa. Where you are right now is the bridge between Spirit World and the living world. Consequently, this is also the only place a spirit beast such as myself can speak. If you pass this ordeal, upon returning to the living world I won't be able to speak anymore. YaYa. All I'll be able to say is my name..."

"Wait... wait. After I come back to life... YOU'LL STILL BE WITH ME!" Ryouga shouted.

YaYa blinked and looked at him, seemingly unable to comprehend that he hadn't already known that, "Well, yes, of course. YaYa. I'm proof that you have already died once before. That way when you die again, there won't be any accidental mishaps where you get ressurected again. That's what happen to this one guy... uhh... Gorble Snooderka... Ka... It's too hard to pronounce. YaYa. Because back then spirit beasts disappeared after their masters were brought back to life. This guy got away with being resurrected a hundred times until Spirit World Intelligence finally caught on. After that, it was deemed necessary for spirit beasts to follow their masters until they died and were officially recorded in the _Big Book of Death_."

Ryouga sighed again, "Okay, okay. There's no need for such lengthy explanations. I really just want to get this over with."

"Right! YaYa. First, we must be purified before we can begin the strengthening! So, onward to the Purification Center!" YaYa said cheerfully.

"Purifica...," Ryouga started, before his spirit beast picked him up by the collar of his shirt and took off running.

Ryouga growled loudly, "I CAN WALK, YOU KNOW!"

"Yrah. YaYa. Thris farster," YaYa said.

'Faster? Well... I guess it is, but this is embarassing!' Ryouga thought.

* * *

Yusuke was relieved to be out of the French maid outfit. It was WAY too uncomfortable, not to mention humiliating. It was almost sunset and it seemed Shizuru was content enough to tell Kuwabara and him that their chores were done for today. He sat against a wall in Kuwabara's room, having trouble figuring out what Kuwabara was doing.

"It's homework, Urameshi. Homework. You know that stuff we have to take home after school?" Kuwabara muttered.

Yusuke laughed, "Yeah, okay. Now, tell me. Really... What are you doing?"

Kuwabara's eyebrow twitched and he stood up, shoving his math homework in Yusuke's face.

"IT'S HOMEWORK!"

Yusuke stared at the paper in front of him, "Whoa. You're serious."

"Darn right, I am! Now, leave me alone. On my last math test, I got a 75. The next math test is just a week away and I'm going to see if I can get a higher score," Kuwabara said.

He returned to his desk and started concentrating. Yusuke stared at the back of Kuwabara's chair, '75? The most I've ever made on a math test is 15! How could he have gotten so smart all of a sudden?'

Yusuke sulked a little bit, "So, when did you start being such a nerd?"

Kuwabara's fist clenched tightly around his pencil, "I am not a nerd! You're just jealous because I'm smarter than you are! Maybe if you did your homework once in a while, you might actually grow some brain cells!"

Yusuke snorted and shoved his hands in his pockets, "So, why? Why are you doing your homework? You were never interested in it before..."

"Well, that was BEFORE I realized that if I'm going to... to be... uhh...," Kuwabara started.

His face turned beet red, but he tried to continue, "I... Well, one day! One day, if... when! When! When I'm..."

"Spit it out already," Yusuke grumbled.

"YUKINA'S HUSBAND!" Kuwabara shouted.

Yusuke facefaulted, "W-what?"

"I... uhh... You see, Urameshi, it's like this. I wanna... marry Yukina someday. And I know, that in order to be a good husband, I have to be able to support her. So, I've made up my mind! I'm going to get an education. And then a great job... And..."

"Spare me the sap, would you?" Yusuke said.

He couldn't believe it. He knew Kuwabara was crazy about Yukina, but he didn't think... He didn't think Kuwabara was THAT crazy about her. A thoughtful looked crossed Yusuke's face, 'Maybe... maybe I should... get serious about education, too. For...'

A blush crept over his cheeks. The very thought of him and Kayko... married...

A glint underneath Kuwabara's bed distracted him. He crawled over and picked up the shiny object. He blinked, "Hey, Kuwabara. How come your cat isn't wearing it's collar?"

Kuwabara muttered to himself for a few moments before he finally answered Yusuke, "Because the collar gets heavy on her poor widdle neck. I need to buy her a lighter one. Poor widdle kitty..."

"Meow."

The cat rubbed against Kuwabara's leg. Kuwabara petted it on the head affectionately. Yusuke looked on in disgust, "Ugh... What is it you call that cat again? Icky?"

Kuwabara looked outraged, "Her name isn't Icky! It's Eikichi!"

Yusuke smirked, "Itchy?"

Kuwabara stood, "EIKICHI!"

"Eeekchi?"

Kuwabara rushed at Yusuke and started punching him in the face, "EIKICHI! E... I... K...I...C...H...I! EIKICHI! GET IT RIGHT, YOU LOUD-MOUTHED LITTLE PUNK!"

Yusuke fought back. Kuwabara's room quickly became the scene of an old-fashioned street brawl. Eikichi meowed fearfully under her owner's desk. Then, the door swung open...

The look in Shizuru's eyes was nothing short of murderous, "WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara ceased fighting in an instant. Shizuru looked at the mess that was Kuwabara's room, "You two. Clean up. NOW. And if I catch you fighting again... Well, let's just say that French maid outfit I made Yusuke wear is NOTHING compared to what I'll do to you two if you don't listen."

Yusuke and Kuwabara grimaced at the thought.

"We'll be good," they mumbled in unison.

Then, they quickly began straightening the room up. Shizuru nodded in satisfaction and shut the door.

"Your sister is evil," Yusuke said.

"Yep," Kuwabara said in agreement.

The two soon returned to their positions before they had started the fight. Yusuke rubbed at some of his bruises, "I don't get what the big deal is about the cat's stupid name, anyway..."

"Her name is not stupid, Urameshi. Now, shut your trap or I'll clobber you again," Kuwabara muttered.

He winced and started to rub at his own bruises.

* * *

Bruises. Bruises. And more bruises.

Ranma crossed his arms and grumbled, "Stupid tomboy... I didn't know she was taking a bath! She didn't have to hit me so hard... She is..."

He stopped himself, suddenly remembering what he had told Ryouga and what Ryouga had said to him.

"Err... I mean... How wrong of me! I should've knocked first! I'm so stupid! No wonder Akane hit me! And did I call her a stupid tomboy? That's not what I meant at all! Heh. I can't believe I'm such a jerk. What I really meant was... Akane is beautiful! She's an intelligent, beautiful woman!"

Akane looked up in the tree Ranma was sitting in, her eyes wide, "Ranma... Do you... mean that?"

Ranma's face met with the ground. He stood up and waved his hands, "Uhhh... Uhhh... I mean... uhhh..."

'I didn't know she was in earshot!' he thought.

The oddly hopeful look on Akane's face began to turn angry.

"I... I did mean it! Every word of it!" Ranma exclaimed.

Akane looked taken aback, "... Really?"

Ranma blushed, "Uhh... Yeah. Uhh..."

He suddenly looked a little defensive, "But... I'm not trying to be a pervert or nothin' like that! I swear!"

Akane nodded her head slowly. Ranma couldn't tell whether Akane was happy, mad, or anything.

'I guess she doesn't really like me all that much,' he thought.

"Ranma..."

Ranma looked up, "Akane?"

Her eyes were full of tears. Ranma paled, 'Oh no... What did I do?'

"I can't find P-chan!" Akane cried.

'Oh... Oh! That's what she's crying about... Darn it. I can't tell her where P-chan's body is. He can't be buried! Not yet... I wonder when he'll come back to life? I hope soon...' Ranma thought.

He carefully got up and patted Akane on the back, "It's okay, Akane. We'll find Ry... P-chan's body."

Akane sniffled, "The funeral was suppose to be today, Ranma. What if P-chan's spirit is out there somewhere... Wandering... because his body isn't at rest!"

Ranma sweatdropped, "Uhhh..."

He was saved by the appearance of Mousse. Or so he thought. He rushed over to him, "Mousse! Come for a fight, huh?"

Mousse glared at Ranma, "Not this time, Saotome. I've come to see, Kasumi."

Ranma blinked, "Kasumi?"

His eyes narrowed for a moment, remembering what happened when Kasumi returned home after being treated by Dr. Tofu. Akane, momentarily put her thoughts about finding P-chan aside, and confronted Mousse before Ranma could say anything else, "Why do you want to see her, Mousse? Don't you think you've done enough to her already?"

Mousse bowed his head, "I've come to apologize. I guess... I don't really expect her to forgive me... I don't expect you to forgive me, either. But I want to try to attone for what I've done the best I can."

Akane's eyes narrowed skeptically. After all Mousse had done, she was quite certain she couldn't trust him. Ranma seemed willing to give Mousse a chance, but he was also very hesitant. He looked to Akane, "Well... uhh... What do you think?"

Akane put her hands on her hips, "I think..."

Kasumi approached her from behind, "I think I should hear what he has to say, Akane..."

Akane blinked and turned to see Kasumi, "Uh... Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Kasumi smiled, "Yes... You two will be right inside, won't you? I think I'll be fine."

Akane nodded slowly and headed inside with Ranma so that Kasumi and Mousse could talk. Mousse bowed respectively to the oldest Tendo girl, "Thank you for deciding to listen to me."

Kasumi sighed softly, "I don't know why you..."

"I had a reason, but that doesn't matter. You obviously didn't deserve to be taken from your home like that and then... put through all that trouble. I'm sorry," Mousse said.

Kasumi listened to him considerately and remained quiet.

"I was stupid. My stupidity nearly got you killed... I honestly didn't mean for it to go that far. But the fact of the matter is that it did and I have to face the consequences. I'm not very familiar with the legal system here in Japan, but I know if I did something like this back in the Amazon village, it's almost a sure thing they would have me executed."

Kasumi shook her head, "That's awful."

Mousse sighed unhappily, "I know. Even if I was good at making apologies, I don't think I..."

"No. I mean about the execution thing. That's awful."

"Oh."

"Mousse was your name, wasn't it? Would you like to come in for some tea?"

Mousse gaped at her, "Tea? N-no! I couldn't! I can't step foot into your place of residence! I'm..."

Kasumi smiled, "It's all right. You sound like you really meant what you said. I accept your apology. Now, I insist you come in for some tea. It's good for the soul."

Mousse bowed his head, "You're too kind..."

"What a very sweet thing for you to say."

"I'm forever in your debt, Miss Tendo. If you need anything, anything at all..."

"Oh, that's quite all right. I'm fine."

Mousse couldn't believe how forgiving she was. It made him feel even guiltier, 'She's so nice. Dr. Tofu should've left that poison in me for a while longer...'

* * *

Hiei stood against the tree, ready for anything. The day had been a trying one for him. He didn't know what it was, but Nerima made him feel paranoid. He was never paranoid, not even in the demon world. On guard, yes. Ready to kill, yes. But this place was different. It wasn't normal, not for him... not for anyone.

_Rustle. Rustle._

Hiei's head quickly tilted upwards to locate the source of the suspicious noise. A squirrel. Hiei eyed it warily, 'Nothing is as it seems in this place. That squirrel may very well be human.'

The squirrel looked at him with its big brown eyes. Hiei observed it silently. The squirrel did nothing but stare at him for a few moments before climbing further up the tree and disappearing from sight. Hiei sighed in relief, but the sudden movement triggered a small amount of pain from bruises he had received recently. It wasn't that he had gotten into a fight. It was more like... He had been ambushed.

_"There he is, girls! I think we might finally catch him this time!"_

_Hiei looked behind him and blinked in surprise. A crowd of girls were actually... catching up with him. No... That couldn't be. There was no way they could muster up enough speed to catch up with him. They were only humans. Wait a minute... They were gaining on him. Were they..._

_Chasing him? _

_'This is impossible!' he thought._

_**WHAM!**_

_Hiei smacked into a street sign, toppling it over._

_**"Do not feed the panda."**_

_Hiei was a little dazed for a moment, 'That's... impossible. That sign wasn't there a few seconds ago. I have three eyes. I can SEE. There wasn't anything in front of me. What's...'_

_"WE GOT HIM! Quick, before he gets away from us!"_

_Hiei was wailed on by just about every object known to man... Pitchforks, pans, spatulas, rolling pins, mallets, books, brooms, mops..._

_"Hey... Wait, he isn't an old man," one girl commented after hitting him a few times with an unplugged lamp._

_"I think you're ri... HEY! Where'd he go? It's... like he disappeared."_

Hiei crossed his arms and grumbled silently to himself. He didn't know how the girls had gotten so fast, how the sign just suddenly appeared in front of him, and why it had taken him so long to recover from slamming into the sign. In a way, he was kind of curious, but mostly he was just... paranoid.

"You seem angry, Hiei."

He glanced around briefly before his eyes landed on a red-head. After all he had been through, he didn't let himself be surprised, "Hello, Kurama."


	13. Some Odd Times We Live In

Kurama sighed wearily. It had taken him a long time to find Hiei and he didn't like the fact that he was so far away from his mother. Anything could happen while he was gone. He sighed again and nodded to himself, 'Of course, that is exactly why I need to talk to Hiei in the first place. Though, perhaps it would've been best to get Yusuke or Kuwabara... Perhaps not. They're lives are no doubt busy. I cannot ask them to put things on hold.'

Hiei waited patiently for Kurama to gather his thoughts. It wasn't like he was going anywhere or had anything to do besides watch the crazy town of Nerima.

"I'm going on a trip to China."

Hiei nearly choked on his own saliva, 'What?'

Kurama tried not to be amused at Hiei's reaction. He was very serious about what he was going to say. Hiei glared at him, "That's very interesting. And can I ask what possessed you to go and do something like that?"

Kurama heaved another sigh, "Well, I hadn't really meant to."

Hiei's expression ran into nothing short of irritated, "Explain."

"It all started at school..."

"Nuisance."

"Please, do not interrupt me, Hiei. As I was saying, it started at school. It was... some kind of contest. Of course, I hadn't entered. I didn't even really pay attention to what it was about simply because of the prize. A trip to China. I have no interest in going there. It's much too far away and you know how much I worry about leaving my mother alone..."

Hiei nodded.

"Well, it would seem that someone had entered my name into the contest."

"Well, couldn't you have unentered it?"

"No. The school frowns on students who... 'Say one thing and do another'. I didn't want my mother to think I had started turning into a troublemaker."

Hiei crossed his arms, 'Humans. They're such foolish idiots.'

"The contest, I still find myself getting confused just thinking about it. It was run by a Chinese man named Chao Tiq. He made us do the silliest things... And no matter how hard I would try to botch..."

Hiei had to ask, "What kind of things, Kurama?"

"Well, one of the things he asked us to do was see how many times we could run in a circle without getting sick or falling down. I ran a few times and then pretended to trip. I was out first. When everyone was finally finished, Tiq announced that I had won that one because I had fallen down at the exact moment he wanted me to."

"That sounds stupid."

"It was and it made the other contestants pretty angry, too. Well, at least the male contests. The female contestants just seemed happy that I won, but I'd rather not talk about them."

"So, no matter what you did to try and lose, you always won?"

"Well, not always. Once or twice, Tiq announced that another contestant was the winner, but it seemed like he only did that to curb the other contestants anger. I ended up winning and naturally, when my mother found out, she insisted that I go. She worries that I have spent too much time cooped up in the house."

"When do you leave?"

"A week from now."

"And you want me to look after your mother?"

"Yes, Hiei. I would appreciate it if you did."

"Fine. As long as you listen to what I have to say, first."

Kurama blinked in surprise that Hiei had something else to say about the situation, "Yes?"

"China is a dangerous human country," Hiei said.

"Why do you say that?"

"There is some kind of place there... It puts curses on people. I've seen them. They turn into ducks, cats, strange monsters... It's insane. I just thought I'd warn you."

Kurama's interest piqued, "Curses, you say? All stemming from some place in China? Hmm. Odd."

Hiei glanced at him puzzledly, 'Of course, it's odd.'

Kurama noticed the look and smiled uncertainly, "It's just strange that I've never heard about it until now."

Hiei shrugged, "You can't know everything."

"No, but... I used to know a bit about many different kinds of curses back when I wasn't quite so human. I don't remember such a curse that would turn people into... things they're not. Of course, there were stories about witches that would turn people into frogs, but that was about it in that department," Kurama said.

Hiei shrugged again. Kurama looked lost in thought for a moment, "Perhaps I should check it out while I'm there in China."

Hiei glared. "Have you gone insane?"

"Curses are very powerful things, Hiei. This place that curses people, it must've popped up either recently or has been inactive for quite some time. In either case, it would be best to investigate."

"You're not the detective. Or Spirit World Intelligence."

Kurama took on a look of consideration. "True as that is, Hiei, you and I both know that Yusuke isn't much of a detective, though he far makes up for it with his level of power. Also, I know that Spirit World Intelligence has a lot of work to do. It could take decades or more for them to notice things that could be trouble. They tend to focus on things that most urgently need to be investigated. Things that could, not possibly could, be a threat."

Hiei shot up into the tree he was standing by. "Do whatever you want, Kurama. If you come back looking like a pig or some other nonsense, you have only yourself to blame."

Kurama looked on as Hiei leaped away, 'Well, that's settled. Still... I wonder how in the world Hiei was able to get that beat up?'

It was then that he tuned himself into the energies of Nerima and his eyes opened wide in shock.

'I've never felt so many powerful energies in one place before. Some of the energies here are stronger than those found in the demon world.'

"PIG-TAILED GODDESS!"

Kurama visibly froze as someone unexpectantly pulled him into a bear hug. He acted quickly throwing the 'attacker' off of him. The 'attacker' hit the tree with a loud crack, "Ah, pig-tailed goddess, me thinks you're beginning to see things my way. You usually throw me much further than this."

Kurama gazed at the adolescent practically embedded in the tree neutrally, "You have me mistaken for someone else. I suggest next time you sneak up on someone that you make sure you know the person you're sneaking up on."

Kuno blinked and took in the face of the red-head, "... You're not the pig-tailed goddess."

Kurama's face was impassive, but through his harsh tone it was clear to see he was a little bit irritated, "You're right. I am not."

"You're a guy."

"Yes. I am."

Kuno shuddered after realizing that he had just hugged a guy and wriggled off of the tree. He bowed to Kurama, "Many apologies. I will look before I leap next time."

"You do that."

Kuno walked away and shook his head, 'I've never seen the pig-tailed goddess with her hair down, anyway.'

Kurama sighed and headed for the train station, 'That was quite a feat he pulled, sneaking up on me like that. Perhaps Hiei is right when he says that I am getting too soft. I really need to pay more attention to my surroundings.'

* * *

**_"The All Girls Anti-Pervert Secret Club"_**

A young girl with long brown hair stood in front of a chalkboard with her hands on her hips. Her eyes surveyed each girl in the room.

"All right, ladies! Today has ended in failure. Just when we thought we had finally caught that good for nothing panty thief, it turned out we got the wrong guy, afterall. But does that mean we're giving up!"

Fifteen other girls shouted the response, "NO!"

"That's right! We're not giving up! We've trained hard just so we can keep up with that dirty, old man! We've all done things to try and increase our speed! We are the fastest members on the track team! The best swimmers! The best athletes in all of Nerima, maybe even in all of Japan! We will beat that pervert and restore peace to Nerima once and for all."

"YEAH!" all of the girls screamed in unison.

"Tomorrow, we will each run an extra five miles and practice our Randomly Selected Object Swing exercise three hundred times. Remember, the next meeting will be at Kari's house at 8:00 P.M. All Girls Anti-Pervert Secret Club, show me your anti-pervert glares!"

The girls' faces scrunched up in anger and disgust. Some were so good at the glare that they were practically snarling. The leader girl nodded in satisfaction, "Dismissed!"

The girls filed out of the leader girl's treehouse. Neither of them were aware of the little old man that had been watching them. The little old man was, of course, Happosai. He looked to be deep in thought.

'Hmm. They're coming pretty far along. I always wondered what would happen if I stayed in one place for too long. It's almost like doing an experiment. These girls are the best pupils I've ever had!' he thought.

He grinned lecherously, 'Now, if only I could give them more hands-on training...'

* * *

Ryouga was glad when his spirit beast finally dropped him, 'Ugh... I feel sick.'

He looked up at the little arch in front of him wonderingly, 'Spirit Purification Center. Huh. Doesn't look like much. One little building...'

A light brown-haired man came out of the square, white building as if he had sensed Ryouga was coming. His eyes were lit up with enthusiasm, "Finally! You're the first person I've seen since the time I was assigned this stupid, boring job."

Ryouga looked at him blankly, "Community service?"

"Nah. I died about twelve years ago. Being of such high spiritual power and status, I was elected to work for the Spirit World. They said they needed someone to do the purification work at the Bridge. Naturally, I volunteered and now I'm stuck here until some other idiot volunteers for it. I thought this job would be interesting. There's nothing to do here."

"Sorry to hear that," Ryouga said.

"Eh, don't be sorry. It's my own fault. You can call me Mr. Kuwabara by the way," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga bowed, "My name is Ryouga Hibiki."

"And I'm YaYa!"

Mr. Kuwabara nodded, "Right, then. Let's get started. If you two will come with me inside, we'll begin the Spirit Purification process."

Inside the building, Ryouga and YaYa were asked to relax and wait for him to return from the back room.

"Do you know what all he's going to do to me?" Ryouga asked.

YaYa beamed, "Of course, I do! He's going to purify your spirit!"

"How?"

"I don't know."

A sweatdrop ran down the back of Ryouga's head, "I thought you were suppose to know these things."

"Well, no one can possibly know everything! And the purification process isn't mentioned in the guide book!" YaYa said.

"Sorry, if I've kept you waiting too long."

Ryouga and YaYa saw Mr. Kuwabara come out of the back room, wheeling a strange computer-type device towards them.

"Just place your arm in the arm hole, Ryouga," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Despite apprehension about the device, Ryouga did as he was told. Mr. Kuwabara typed some things into the computer, "Good. Now, you might feel some pain, but whatever you do don't jerk your arm out until I tell you, you can."

Ryouga nodded and waited. For a moment, all was calm...

Until he felt like his arm was on fire, he gritted his teeth and tried to bear through the pain.

'Some pain? Some pain? This really hurts...'

"Okay, you can take your arm out now," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga withdrew his arm quickly and held it. His eyes widened as he saw a huge red circle on his arm, and it was growing in size. The burning pain refused to cease.

"Mr. Kuwabara, is it suppose to hurt this much?"

Mr. Kuwabara laughed, "Are you kidding? It's only a..."

He saw the red mark spreading over Ryouga's arm.

"... That's not suppose to happen."

"WHAT!"

Mr. Kuwabara quickly pulled out a drawer from underneath the keyboard and brought out a medical needle.

"Hold still again."

Ryouga held his arm close to him in a protective manner, "NO WAY! You're nuts!"

"You have to calm down. This shot here will cancel out that shot of weakened purity I gave you. The purity shot is suppose to subdue all of your negative traits... like selfishness and arrogance, for example. It allows me to accurately measure all aspects of your spiritual power and it aids in the purification process," Mr. Kuwabara said.

"Do what he says, Ryouga!"

Ryouga didn't know what else he could do. He thrusted his arm at Mr. Kuwabara and closed his eyes. Mr. Kuwabara gave him the shot. Gradually, the pain lessened and Ryouga sighed in relief. Mr. Kuwabara looked at him wonderingly, "Looks like I'm going to have to run a few tests to see what caused your severe reaction to a weakened purity shot. It's obviously not because you're wicked, otherwise your spirit beast would've devoured you when it hatched. I had the feeling you were going to be different, somehow, but I dismissed it as me being too hopeful. It's been so long since I've had to actively use my spirit senses that they must've gotten a bit dull."

"Should be more careful next time," Ryouga muttered.

Mr. Kuwabara pulled out a small radar device out of his pocket and pointed it at Ryouga. He pushed a button and glanced at the readings.

"Let's see. Everything seems to be normal... Hmm? Hmmm..."

"Hmmm? What's 'hmmm?'?" Ryouga asked.

"Well, you seem to have a dangerously high level of depression in your soul."

Ryouga sighed heavily, "Yeah, that sounds like me..."

"Also, there are traces of high energy chaos around you. And... I can't believe I didn't see it before, you have demon blood in you."

Ryouga peered at the radar curiously, "Demon blood? What do you mean? I'm... a demon?"

'Not only do I have a stupid curse, but now I'm a demon, too! Akane will never love me!'

**_Crr...Crrrr... Crack._**

Glass from the radar fell to the floor. Mr. Kuwabara winced, "That's bad. Awful."

"What?" Ryouga muttered.

"Your depression... I've never felt anything like it. You should be taking some extra strength anti-depressants."

Ryouga glared at him, "What do you know?"

"I do know and I feel. Think some happy thoughts or something, kid. You're giving me a major headache," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Ryouga took in a deep breath, "Sorry..."

Mr. Kuwabara put the broken radar away and pulled out a new one, "I'm turning the negativity sensors off, so that I can explore this demon aspect of you more thoroughly and without having the radar break."

"What's it say?" Ryouga asked.

Mr. Kuwabara studied the radar carefully, "Apparently, you are one eighth demon. Some type of canine demon of some sort. Fox? Wolf? Hyena? Dog, maybe? I'm not sure. This new technology takes time getting used to and I'm afraid I got bored tinkering with it the first few years that I stayed here. But anyway, the rest of you is human."

Ryouga attempted to comprehend what all of that meant, 'I'm not entirely human? But... but...'

He always knew he wasn't just an average guy, but then he didn't know anyone that was.

'Maybe everyone in Nerima has demon blood! Especially Ranma. He better be being nice to Akane. I'll be coming back soon, Akane...'

"But that works out all the better for me! I haven't had real fun in a looong time," Mr. Kuwabara finished.

"Huh? What?" Ryouga asked.

Mr. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes, "You weren't paying attention?"

"Umm..."

Mr. Kuwabara sighed in frustration, "I hate delays! All right. I'll say it one more time and you better listen. Obviously, I can't give you the weakened purity shot. So, in cases such as this, there is only one thing I can do to purify and strengthen your spirit."

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah?"

Mr. Kuwabara smirked, "We have to fight."

"Fight?" Ryouga looked confused. "Where? Why?"

"Outside, of course. I have my own personal training room. It's one of the things that have allowed me to keep my sanity for all these years. Fighting with me will strengthen your spirit and, in a sense, pacify your demonic energy so that you can survive the journey back to life."

"You guys make the journey sound impossible!" Ryouga said.

"It's not impossible, just really, really difficult," YaYa said.

"Your spirit will no doubt pass through being strengthened with ease. The first part is always the easiest. But after that, as you journey further across the bridge, the strenghtening of your morality, wits, and physical self will try you. But enough about that, you'll find out later. Let's get the fight underway."

Ryouga followed Mr. Kuwabara into a back room. The training room looked like an enclosed forest with trees dotted everywhere and grass planted firmly beneath their feet. Mr. Kuwabara walked to the opposite side of the room. YaYa laid on the grass and watched the two bow to each other.

"This is going to be fun," Mr. Kuwabara said, smirking.

He summoned up four spirit swords; two in each of his big hands. Ryouga stared at him in amazement.

'I've never seen anything like that before...'

(Author's Note: Sorry about the long period of time without updating, readers. And also, I know this chapter is a little short, but I will try to make the next one longer and hopefully, Life Runs Into Chaos will be updated sooner...)


	14. It's All New!

Yusuke walked down the sidewalk of the city he once knew as home.

'It's good to be back and to get a rest from that crazy town,' he thought.

He could've done without having to stay at Kuwabara's house, though. Breakfast that day had been a battlefield. Kuwabara didn't have to hog all of the doughnuts. Shizuru was no better. He had no idea that a girl could eat as many doughnuts as she did without getting fat. He shrugged to himself, ignoring the mean looks he was given by a gang he walked past.

"Well, if it isn't Yusuke Urameshi. I thought you had left for good. Guess the roaches always come crawling back, aye, boys?" the gang leader said to the other members.

Yusuke smirked and halted his walk, 'Oh, so they think they can run MY city while I'm away, do they?'

He turned and took his hands out of his pockets. A couple of the gang members looked at the gang leader with worry. One gang member twiddled his thumbs nervously, "I thought Yusuke was gone. We don't stand a chance against him."

The gang leader glared at him, "Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You should listen to him because he's right. All of you put together don't stand a chance against me. If you run, now, maybe I won't turn you into a stain on the sidewalk."

The gang member that had spoke up instantly turned and ran away. The gang leader shouted out to him, "You coward! You'll be more than just afraid of that punk when I get a hold of you!"

"Not if you're sitting in the hospital," Yusuke said.

"That's it! Come on, guys! Let's get him!" the gang leader said.

The gang threw themselves at him with all the force they could muster. Yusuke grinned as he slammed his knee into the gang leader's gut and ducked a punch from a gang member who had tried to sneak up behind him. He kicked the sneak's legs out from under him and after running over him, body slammed a gang member just behind him. Only a few seconds later, the rest of the gang fell to the ground, sprawled on the concrete out cold.

"How impressive. You single-handedly defeated a group of weaklings. I suppose you'll be beating up toddlers, next?"

Yusuke shrugged, "Eh. They had it coming."

"Dimwit," Genkai said.

"Old hag," Yusuke replied.

"You're ungrateful, you know that? You leave without saying goodbye. I didn't even get a post card."

"I would've gotten around to it, eventually."

"And you haven't been training."

Yusuke grinned smugly, "I would've gotten around to it, eventually."

"You're a slacker and it'll cost you if you keep it up. I doubt you've even notice the change that has happened with your spirit energy."

Yusuke blinked and cocked an eyebrow, "Change? What do you mean, Genkai?"

"I mean that wherever you've been, you've run into an unusually high amount of chaos."

Yusuke frowned, "Chaos, this. Chaos, that. That's all I ever hear about when it comes to that place... that Nerima."

"I suggest you keep on your guard. Botan has already told me of what's been going on as of late and people that absorb high amounts of chaos into their spirit energy remain in constant trouble. Before trouble was always of your own doing and a part of your life as spirit detective. And now, it looks as if trouble will follow you wherever you go."

"Yeah, yeah. The cryptic message is nice, old lady, but I got somewhere I need to be. Catch you later," Yusuke said.

He turned and left, giving a casual wave of goodbye. Genkai grumbled to herself and turned to leave in the opposite direction as him. Yusuke continued walking, stopping at a movie theater. He leaned up against a wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Kayko ran to him. She folded her arms across her chest, "Hey, you're late! We're going to miss the movie!"

Yusuke shrugged and grinned at her. Kayko sighed in exasperation, "You got into a fight, didn't you? Oh, nevermind. Come on, let's go before they stop running the previews."

She dragged him by his arm into the movie theater.

* * *

Akane sighed as she stared out her window with a melancholy expression. Ranma instantly appeared in front of the window, having hopped down from the roof.

"Hey, what's the matter with you?"

"How can we have a funeral for P-chan when his body is missing? I don't understand how it could've happened. I was so careful," Akane said.

Ranma tried not to look guilty, "You don't think someone stole him, do you?"

Akane growled. Ranma hopped back and congratulated himself for not being in reach of her while she was mad.

"Don't be stupid, Ranma. Who would steal a... pig..."

Ranma didn't like the look in her eyes. He didn't like it one bit.

"Uhh... Akane?"

"... Restaurants."

"Restaurants?"

"Shampoo... Ukyou... What if they wanted a free ingredient? I'll... I'll... I'LL KILL THEM IF THEY'VE COOKED MY PRECIOUS P-CHAN WHEN HE WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE A PROPER BURIAL!"

Ranma paled, 'Oh no...'

"Wait, Akane..."

Akane jumped out the window, kicked Ranma up into the air, and took off running. Ranma rested his hand on his chin as he soared through the air.

'Why couldn't I have just said nothing?'

Then, he stopped in mid-air, feeling suddenly like a captured butterfly in a net. He managed to untangle himself from the net and landed on a tree branch. At the top of the tree was Nabiki, holding a giant butterfly net.

"Err, Nabiki? How did you get up here?"

"I climbed," Nabiki said apathetically.

"Oh. Uhh... Where'd you get the net?"

"I have my ways."

"Umm..."

"What's going on, Ranma? I'm starting to have doubts. I do not like having doubts. First, when I heard that 'P-chan' had died, I was... concerned. Your reaction led me to believe that Ryouga Hibiki had died. Then, later on, you appeared lighter in spirits and claimed to have spoken to Ryouga at school. You said that he told you he was going on a mystical training journey. Now, after watching you speak with Akane and that obviously guilty look on your face makes me believe that there is more to this than what meets the eye. Spill."

"Why should I tell you?" Ranma snapped.

Nabiki held up photographs of Ranma in 'unusual' positions with, individually, Kodachi, Ukyou, Shampoo, Azusa, and... Kasumi?

"... They're fake."

"Yeah, I doctored them, but I bet with Akane as mad as she is right now, she wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Ranma cursed silently, "All right."

Nabiki grinned her usual cunning smile.

"Ryouga is dead..."

Nabiki tore up the pictures and nodded, "Thank you, I..."

"He's coming back to life."

Nabiki nearly fell out of the tree, but quickly hugged the trunk.

"What?"

"I said, he's coming back to life. I don't know when and I don't exactly know how. But he wasn't suppose to have died when he did, so the Spirit World... people... things... whatever are allowing him a second chance."

Nabiki frowned, "Ranma, I do not like being toyed with."

"I'm telling the truth," Ranma said, "You don't have to believe it if you don't want to, but that's all I have to offer you. Anything else would be a lie."

Nabiki considered his words and studied him carefully, "Hmm. So, you are telling the truth. That's very interesting. I suppose I'm the only one who knows besides you?"

Ranma thought, "Umm... Ah! No. Yusuke knows, too. I'm not sure how he figured it out, though. Unless he's psychic or something. He was the one who hid P-chan's body from Akane."

'Hmm. That'll have to be something I'll need to look into later,' Nabiki thought.

"What do you plan on doing about Akane?" she asked.

"Besides prevent her from getting into a fight with Ukyou and Shampoo? I don't know."

"Typical. All right, I'm going to do you a favor just this once, Ranma..."

Ranma groaned, "I don't have any money, Nabiki..."

"Oh no. This is free of charge. You won't owe, I promise."

"... What's in it for you?"

Nabiki honestly looked hurt. Ranma was taken aback. He had never seen that kind of look on Nabiki's face before.

"You think I'd be so cold-hearted as to have no respect for someone who died? Can't I do what's right, too?"

"Well, it's just... I'm so used to... Well..."

Nabiki's normal expression seemed to flash instantly back onto her face. Afterall, she still had a reputation to maintain.

"Don't worry about it. I get what you mean. Okay, here's the plan..."

* * *

"These fighting scenes are so fake. I want to see someone really get their jaw broken."

"Shhh..."

"You call that a punch?"

"Yusuke!" Kayko hissed.

Yusuke crossed his arms and grumbled to himself. He looked over to Kayko and took in her slumped posture. Her eyes were filled with disappointment. Yusuke frowned and then slowly draped his arm over her shoulders. He whispered to her, "You know... This movie would be a whole lot worse without you here to embarrass. I mean, it really makes it all worthwhile watching your face match the color of the seats..."

Kayko faced him, smiling slightly, "You're a jerk."

"I know." Yusuke grinned. Both of them realized how close together their faces were. Yusuke looked into her hopeful eyes and struggled to catch his breath. He leaned forward and touched her lips with his own. The movie was the farthest thing from their minds and they didn't notice that something had stopped the movie from playing until everyone started running to the emergency exits.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER, YOU INGRATE!"

Yusuke and Kayko stopped kissing and looked at the boy in front of them blankly. He was wearing a yellow school uniform and had shoulder-length black hair. He appeared to have entered the movie theater by smashing through the movie screen. Yusuke stood, anger registering on his face.

"I'll put my hands on her anywhere I want to whenever I want to. You're not the..."

**_SLAP!_**

"Yusuke! How can you say that?"

Yusuke rubbed his bruise sheepishly, not having meant to get a reaction from her with that comment.

"Sorry..."

"Grr... You should be sorry! Touching my betrothed like that!"

Yusuke gaped at him. For once, he didn't have an insult to back him up. Kayko's mouth was hanging open, "Betrothed?"

She shook her head and closed her mouth.

"There must be some kind of mistake. I don't know who you are. See, my name is Kayko Yukimura," she proceeded in spelling the name out for him, "And... uhh... This is my boyfriend. We were just watching a movie together like normal people. Maybe you're betrothed ran outside."

She grabbed onto Yusuke's arm tightly. Yusuke wondered if it were possible to crush the butterflies that were happily floating in his stomach. He was Yusuke Urameshi. He didn't get butterflies...

"No, no. You're the one that's mistaken, my dear. You don't have a boyfriend; that would be betraying me! I've finally returned to the city so that we can get started on planning our wedding. Doesn't Kayko Yoshida have a nice ring to it?"

"No. Kayko Urameshi sounds much better. Now, are you going to leave us alone or am I going to have to stain the carpet with something other than chewed gum and soda?"

Kayko stared at Yusuke in shock.

'Kayko... Urameshi?' She blushed.

"Urameshi, huh? Well, I am Satoshi Yoshida, first-class student of the School of Anything Goes Rope Weapons Martial Arts!"

"I don't care who you are, blabbermouth!" Yusuke shouted.

He took aim and fired a weak Spirit Gun blast at the offending boy. Surprisingly, Satoshi dodged the blast and pulled out of his yellow uniform shirt a couple of long, dark-colored ropes. It almost reminded Yusuke of Mousse, considering that it looked impossible for the ropes to fit in the boy's clothing.

"You better listen to me, Urameshi and run while you can! You have no claim on my wife-to-be! Not since that fateful day five years ago, when Mrs. Yukimura gave me a haircut. But alas, I had no money to pay her for her good services, so I promised to take her daughter's hand in marriage. She gave me her blessing and I left the city to pursue the art of Rope Weaponry Martial Arts!"

'Yak, yak, yak!' Yusuke thought.

He ran at Satoshi with his fists forward and was suddenly stopped. His feet had somehow been tied together. He didn't know how the guy did it, but then, he didn't care.

"You can't stop me that easily..."

He hopped at great speeds towards Satoshi and slammed into him. Satoshi kicked Yusuke off of him, tied him up, and using some strange rope device, pulled himself towards Kayko. He hugged her happily, "My darling!"

Yusuke's eyes flashed dangerously and he broke the ropes that were binding him with ease.

"YUSUKE! GET THIS CREEP OFF OF ME!" Kayko shrieked.

"It's okay, dear. You don't have to be frightened. I'll protect you from that awful Ura..."

**_SLAM!_**

Kayko's eyes opened wide with shock as she watched the boy double over holding a certain region while tears fell from his eyes. Yusuke blinked and stopped coming at him.

"Err... Kayko, did you just... knee him?"

Kayko looked a little embarrassed, "Well, I wasn't just going to stand there and let him fondle me! The pervert..."

Satoshi managed to gasp out, "I... forgive... you..."

"My mom has some explaining to do," Kayko said, frowning.

Yusuke nodded, "Yeah."

"What do you think we should do with him?"

Yusuke shrugged. Kayko and Yusuke stared down at him as he continued to hold himself in pain.

"You want to go out for ice cream or something?" Yusuke asked finally.

Kayko looked away from Satoshi and nodded, "Sure, why not?"

"Wait, you can't leave!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"Yes, we can. If I have to look at your ugly face again, I'm going to rearrange it so badly, your own family wouldn't recognize you."

"You'll... pay..."

Yusuke shrugged him off. Then, he and Kayko left the theater where police would later arrive to investigate the disturbance.

"Yusuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm... About what you said back there... Does Kayko Urameshi really sound nice to you?"

Yusuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and grumbled at her, "Well, that's a stupid question. Why wouldn't I mean it?"

"Uhh..."

Yusuke glanced at her and then looked away, "Not that that was a proposal or anything. I'd like to keep my freedom a little longer, thank you very much."

Kayko glared at him, but it was ruined by the small smile at the corner of her lips. She linked arms with him as they walked. Yusuke blushed slightly, 'What if someone sees me? Ah! Who cares if anyone sees? I'll do whatever I want. I'm Yusuke Urameshi, the biggest, baddest punk there ever was. Anyone who questions it can leave a message with my fists.'

* * *

Ryouga set himself in his fighting stance. He wasn't used to face-offs. Most of the time, he just went in attacking... and with Ranma. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had fought with anyone else besides Ranma. Realization seemed to dawn on Ryouga in that instant.

'Maybe that's why I'm always one step behind Ranma! He has all the sparring partners in the world with all those enemies he makes! And me? All I have is him!'

**_BAM!_**

Ryouga fell, dazed.

'What hit me?'

Mr. Kuwabara stood over him and groaned, "Aw, come on, kid. Can't you fight at all? And don't you know not to daydream in the middle of a fight?"

"I know well enough!"

Ryouga jumped to his feet, punching the man in the gut. Mr. Kuwabara doubled over slightly, but twirled his body around and delivered a kick to Ryouga's head. Ryouga flew backward, but managed to steady himself. He was well-known in Nerima for his hard head. Mr. Kuwabara hadn't used his spirit swords, yet.

'He must be holding back. Maybe he's not sure I can handle it. Well, I'll show him!'

He ran at Mr. Kuwabara and then, bent over and pointed his finger to the ground.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"

The ground broke underneath him, sending debris every which way. Mr. Kuwabara held his arms up, using the swords and his arms to shield himself from the debris. Ryouga plowed through the debris, not feeling any of it, and started punching Mr. Kuwabara several times in the face. Mr. Kuwabara took the two spirit swords in his left hand and swung them at Ryouga's side. Ryouga slammed into a tree from the force.

'That burns...'

"Well, I have to say I am impressed! I haven't seen an attack like that before! The way you just shrugged off the sharpnel like it was nothing. That is amazing."

"Well, I didn't have boulders slamming into my body all the time for nothing."

"Sounds like some serious training. I should try that, sometime. But, don't start getting cocky. I have plenty of tricks myself."

"So do..."

Ryouga paused. Well, he did. Sure, he still had a few physical attacks left, but the fight would've been a whole lot easier if he had his limitless bandanas on and his umbrella with him. He had a bandana on, but apparently the limitless part didn't cross over with him. Everything beyond death was so strange and confusing. Mr. Kuwabara smirked, "What's the matter? Getting tired?"

"No! I never give up!"

"That's the truth," Yaya said, from his sleeping position.

"Great! That's perfect," Mr. Kuwabara said.

They immediately began fighting again.

* * *

The plotters hid near the side of Ucchan's where Akane and Ukyou were arguing.

"Nabiki, are you sure this is going to work? It sounds a little risky to me."

"My plans never fail. Trust me."

"I'm not sure if that's a..."

Nabiki glared at him. Ranma put his hands up in surrender, "Fine, fine. I believe you."

* * *

"I told you already, I didn't steal your pet pig! He's hardly big enough for one oknamiyaki, anyway!" Ukyou shouted.

"Yeah? Then, explain this!" Akane exclaimed, holding up a familiar yellow bandana.

Ukyou slapped her forehead, "Akane, in all the time P-chan was living, I've hardly ever seen him around my restaurant! Ryouga, on the other hand, wanders around here all the time! He has several bandanas that looks just like that."

Akane blinked and looked at the bandana carefully, "Hey... You know I never realized how closely these looked alike... I wonder how P-chan..."

'Uh-oh. Better stop that train of thought,' Ranma thought.

He quickly jumped in, armed with Nabiki's plan.

"Akane, I figured out what happened to P-chan!"

Ukyou crossed her arms with a spatula in hand, "Yeah, see? I didn't steal him."

"It was Happosai!"

"Happosai? What would he want with a... OH NO! HE COOKED HIM, DIDN'T HE?" Akane shrieked.

"No, no! Listen. Happosai actually felt guilty about what had happened, for once! He decided to have P-chan buried in the pet cemetery in Nerima. The only problem is he forgot to tell us all about the funeral because he decided to go panty-raiding that day!"

"Are you serious?" Akane asked.

"How could I not be, Akane?"

He definitely looked serious. Thanks to practicing the look in front of Nabiki.

"He definitely looks serious," Akane and Ukyou said in unison.

"Because I am! I'll prove it to you! Follow me!"

Nabiki followed behind the running trio, pleased with herself. The connections she had seemed to know no end. Thus, when they arrived at the pet cemetery, a gravestone marked P-chan, was easily found. Ranma looked at it in disbelief, 'How in the world can she do something like this?'

"This was Happosai's doing..." Akane said.

Ranma only nodded dumbly, still in awe at Nabiki. Akane sighed, "Best I pay my respects, then. I wish I could've attended the ceremony... Stupid Happosai."

She bowed her head and closed her eyes, "Rest in peace."

Her eyes opened to shoot glares at Ranma and Ukyou, "Hm?"

Ukyou and Ranma hastily bowed their heads.

"Safe travels in the afterlife, P-chan," Ranma said.

"Bless your soul, little pig," Ukyou muttered.

Akane and Ranma lingered by the P-chan gravestone after Ukyou had left to tend to her restaurant.

"I miss him, Ranma."

"Yeah, I know. I miss him, too."

Silence fell on one of the only peaceful places in Nerima. Akane sighed and then she smiled, "I have a perfect idea! I'll make some cookies in the shape of little pigs in honor of P-chan today! That'll cheer us up, huh, Ranma?"

Ranma's face turned a sickly white, "Uhh... You go on without me. I'd like to... continue paying my respect to P-chan. Me and him were buddies, you know? I mean, sure we didn't act like it a lot of times, but we were... ah... uh..."

Akane didn't know whether to believe him, but thinking back to his initial reaction to P-chan's death, she decided that he was telling the truth and not trying to get out of eating her cookies. Ranma sighed in relief after she left.

'Oh yeah! Celebrate good times! I don't have to taste Akane's cookies!'

He started to leave the pet cemetery himself when he noticed Nabiki hanging around the most decorative and flowery gravestone he had ever seen before in his life. He strolled towards Nabiki and looked over her shoulder. The gravestone was marked 'T-chan'.

"T-chan?"

Nabiki nodded, "When I was younger, I had a pet turtle. I spent my entire savings at that time to have T-chan buried when he died. Mother even gave a nice eulogy for him during the ceremony."

"You ever try pouring hot water on him?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes, "No... But I think I would've noticed if my turtle turned into a person or whatever else."

"Akane didn't notice the connections between P-chan and Ryouga."

"I'm not Akane."

"No, but you sure do have similar tastes in naming your pets."

Nabiki sweatdropped, "I don't have to put up with this."

She started towards the gate exit of the pet cemetery. Ranma called out to her, "Akane's making cookies tonight!"

Nabiki slowly walked back to the gravestone, "I can recite the eulogy from memory."

* * *

Ryouga opened his eyes, dazed beyond reason. He could scarcely remember what had happened prior to being knocked unconscious. He paled, 'Oh wait... I was unconscious? Does that mean... I lost? No! I can't lose! I have to get my life back! I don't want to spend the rest of eternity doing community service!'

Mr. Kuwabara sat beside him, a little concerned.

"You okay? You still remember who you are and everything right? I might've went a little too heavy with that last blow... I swear once I get into a fighting mood, it's hard to control myself."

Ryouga stood quickly, "I demand a rematch!"

Mr. Kuwabara stared at him from his sitting position, "A rematch? Much fun as that would be, you have your life to get back. You need to complete your ordeal..."

Ryouga paused for a moment, trying to think, "But... but... I lost. I thought..."

Mr. Kuwabara snapped his fingers with realization, "Ohhh! I get it! You thought if you lost, that'd be it. You'd have to go and work for the rest of your... afterlife. Well, you're lucky that this part of spirit purification has nothing to do with winning or losing this fight. Your first fight here, at the bridge, purifies your soul without tampering with your demon blood. Of course, if you hadn't seen the fight all the way through to the end, the purification process would've been incomplete and you would've been unable to continue your ordeal."

"Oh..."

"Hey, don't be too disappointed about losing. I had way too many advantages over you. Experience, for one. Also, besides experience, I've been... I suppose you could say... fortunate to be constantly developing my spirit energy. I'd say you've really only made a nice-sized dent in that department. You didn't use an attack... A powerful attack... I think probably because you didn't have the right kind of spirit energy to fuel it at the time."

"... You mean my Shi Shi Hokodan?"

Mr. Kuwabara's eyebrows shot up, "The Shi Shi Hokodan? You are amazing. To learn that attack at such a young age... Still, doesn't provide a good outlook on your overall health. I mean, to be so young and so depressed... and equipped with an attack that has the potential to do almost as much damage as a nuclear bomb..."

Ryouga shifted uneasily, "Well.."

"For your own sake, Ryouga, you need to limit the use of that attack as much as you possibly can. The new attack that you've gained will certainly help you with this."

"Wait! New attack? What new attack? I didn't learn any new..."

"You didn't learn it, so much as you acquired it. Those from the living world, who are about to or have had frequent contact with supernatural energies, almost always acquire a spirit attack to aid them for the troubles to come. Spirit attacks vary from person to person, depending on the situation. Spirit detectives, for example, acquire spirit guns to aid them. In my particular case, I have the use of spirit swords. This comes in part from being descended from a long line of demon slayers who acquired the spirit sword after the use of traditional weapons became a tremendous hassle. Spirit attacks don't attract too much attention and can easily be overlooked by people just going about their day while someone chasing after a demon with a traditional weapon, say, a giant boomerang, would have a hard time trying to get past onlookers and other such nonsense."

"Demon slayer? But... if I'm one-eighth demon..."

"When I was living, I didn't slay just any demons. Some of them are capable of being good. You're being only one-eighth demon, really doesn't hold any significance. For one, you're obviously good. For another, demon slayers usually end up hunting pure-blood or half-blood demons because they're demonic powers are more prominent than in those with less demon blood."

"Oh, okay. So, you were saying about spirit attacks?"

Mr. Kuwabara grinned, "The cool thing about not being a spirit detective or having an inherited spirit attack is that the spirit attack will be customized to your unique spiritual make-up. Once, I met this young punk in Kyoto who had this spirit attack called Spirit Hula Hoops. He could make these rings made of spirit energy spin around various parts of his body. I doubt yours will be that bizarre, though. The demon part of you might even limit the customization part a bit. I mean, like if that one-eighth of you is fox demon, you'll probably have some kind of fox fire spirit attack."

'Hmm... So, I have a new attack, now? I wonder what it is?' Ryouga thought.

"How do I use it?"

"Well, this is a lot easier to explain to someone who has already tapped into a part of their spirit energy. Just focus your energy like you would for the Shi Shi Hokodan technique, but don't use your depression to fuel it. Then, concentrate on letting it out. I recommend trying to release it by the hands, first since most spirit attacks start there. If nothing happens, try somewhere else, like your head, or mouth, or even your feet."

Ryouga nodded and set about focusing his energy for the spirit attack. Feeling a familiar pull at his energy, he concentrated on pushing it through his hands.

"Ah! Spirit Claws! Not very unique. Doesn't tell me much about that demon part of you, either since almost all demons have claws."

Ryouga stared at the lines of blue energy that extended from each of his finger tips. He moved his hands around a bit, watching at how swiftly and sharply the spirit claws cut through the air.

"Such a waste of energy, though. Considering at the moment, this'll be the last time you'll be able to use this attack for a while."

"What? What do you mean?" Ryouga asked.

"Well, newly acquired spirit attacks take some time getting used to. At the start, you'll only be able to use it once each day. Keep on using it, though, and eventually, you'll be able to use your spirit claws whenever and however many times you like until your spirit energy runs out."

"Why didn't you warn me?"

Mr. Kuwabara rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well, I was curious..."

Ryouga sweatdropped and watched as the spirit claws faded away. Yaya stood and stretched, "We better get going, then, Ryouga."

"Going? Now? But where?"

"I'm not entirely too sure. The guidebook says that it's in fate's hands where the ordeal takes you to become strengthened..."

"So, what? Should I just start walking and see where I end up?"

Yaya nodded, "Yep!"

Mr. Kuwabara laughed, "Good luck with that. Hey, when you get back to the living world, if you ever meet a Shizuru Kuwabara tell her that her father loves her and is proud of her for taking care of little Kazuma. Oh, and tell her to lighten up a bit, too. And to refrain from beating up Kazuma all the time. And maybe quit that smoking..."

Ryouga sweatdropped, "Err... If I ever meet her, I'm sure I'll tell her that. You want me to tell anything to the... Kazuma person, too?"

"My son? Well, I'd like you to pass on a message to him, but trust me, he wouldn't believe you like Shizuru would. Ah yeah! I know. Try and get him into a topic about dreams. Just tell him that the old lady that chases after him with an axe in his dream is an old, old ancestor that is only trying to convince him to marry and have children. Tell him the best way to get her out of his dreams is to have a talk with her about it. I think he has a girlfriend, now. Just tell him to tell her that he has found someone."

'Weird. Ancestors visiting someone in their dreams just to try and get them to marry and have children? Sounds worse than Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome.'

"Uhh, okay. I'll do that. Bye, Mr. Kuwabara."

"Bye, bye!" Yaya said.

"Good bye!"

Ryouga and Yaya left the Spirit Purification Center. Then, returned to it. Then, left it, again. Mr. Kuwabara stood outside the Spirit Purification Center and crossed his arms, "You guys still here?"

"I'm trying to leave!" Ryouga said.

He turned to glare at Yaya, "You're my spirit beast guide, aren't you? Why can't you help me leave this place? You sure were able to find it easy enough!"

Yaya laid down and covered its pig nose with its paws in a cowering position, "It was a stroke of good luck. I'm your inner self, remember? I'm just as lost as you are!"

Mr. Kuwabara shook his head, 'How bizarre. I should add him to the top ten list of the weirdest people I've ever met.'

Eventually, Ryouga and Yaya left the Spirit Purification Center for good to continue the ordeal.


	15. Childish Motivations

Ranma woke up earlier than usual that morning. He made it a habit to wake up before his father, now. Today would be the day. Today...

"RISE AND SHINE, YUSUKE!" Ranma shouted, picking Yusuke up out of bed and throwing him outside.

Yusuke flipped over and fell on the ground unsteadily. He yawned and glared at Ranma, "Will you cut it out? What do I have to do to get some sleep around here when you keep throwing me out of bed at three in the morning?"

"I'll only quit if you show me how you did that spirit gun thing!"

"Get a life!" Yusuke shouted.

They ran at each other. It had been almost a couple of weeks after Yusuke's weekend visit to his home city. The moment Yusuke arrived back in Nerima, Ranma absolutely insisted that Yusuke train him. And when Yusuke refused... Well, Ranma wasn't one to give up when it came to learning a new technique. Akane glared at the ceiling from her bed.

'Are they at it again? What do I have to do to get some sleep around here?'

She covered her ears with her pillow. It didn't work. She gritted her teeth, got out of bed, and opened her window. She stared blearily at the two fighting boys in sleepy contempt. She opened up her closet and picked up a barbell. She walked back to the window and chucked the barbell outside. Ranma swung to the side and laughed triumphantly, "HA! You missed this time, Akane!"

**_SLAM!_**

Ranma's eyes spiraled with the blow Yusuke delivered and he fell unconscious.

"Ha. Looks like I didn't miss." Yusuke turned and walked back inside. He slid under his covers and fell to sleep.

* * *

Ryouga sighed and stopped walking. Yaya turned and looked at him questioningly, "What's the matter?"

"We've been walking for such a long time and nothing has happened! I'm never going to get through this ordeal because I'm so lost! I think we passed that cloud a thousand times!"

"Nonsense! You just need to learn some patience. Something will happen, eventually. We just have to keep walking."

Ryouga sighed again and resumed walking alongside his spirit beast.

* * *

Kurama stretched and opened his tent to greet the rising sun. He set about packing up his tent and wondered briefly where Chao, the sponsor of the contest, was. Chao Tiq had an odd habit of disappearing and reappearing. Often, the sponsor would tell him to go exploring without him. Kurama found it odd, how the man didn't have any activities or set schedule lined up for him. But then, Chao was an odd man.

"Ah! Shuichi, you're awake! Want some breakfast?" Chao asked, his yellow eyes sparkling like the dew on the grass.

Kurama looked at the plate of eggs and bacon Chao offered him.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

He sat and ate the food. Chao grinned and ate his own meal quickly.

"Shuichi..."

Kurama finished off his food and looked to him, "Yes?"

"I have some business matters to attend to, but don't worry, you don't have to just sit here and be bored all day!"

He handed Kurama a slip of paper. The paper contained notes about a local village, a nearby training ground, and some "awesome" mountains. Kurama blinked and looked back at Chao, "You're leaving me alone, again?"

"Yes, yes. You're fifteen. You can take care of yourself, boy! Just remember to return here before 10:00 P.M. and everything will be fine."

Kurama frowned as Chao left the campsite. He looked back at the slip of paper and sighed.

'It is almost as if he wants me to get into some sort of trouble. This whole thing is suspicious. But I do not sense any demonic energy in him. His energy makes him appear... well-intentioned. Still, I mustn't let my guard down.'

He stood and folded the piece of paper to put in his pocket. Then, he headed towards the village known as Joketsuzoku.

* * *

Ranma glanced at Yusuke while walking on the fence to school. Akane yawned, "You guys really need to stop fighting so early in the morning. If this keeps up, I'm going to fall asleep in class."

"Hey, don't blame me. Girlie boy over there is the one who keeps throwing me out of bed," Yusuke said.

Ranma glared at him, "Well, maybe I wouldn't have to if you'd quit being so stubborn and just show me how you did that spirit gun thing."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"No, but I can make ya..."

Ranma jumped off the fence, ready to come at Yusuke, but Akane blocked him.

"You idiot! We have to go to school!"

Ranma grumbled under his breath, "Yeah, yeah. But after school, be prepared to fight, Yusuke."

Akane rolled her eyes, "It's like all you think about is food and fighting."

"Is there anything else?"

Yusuke smirked, "Well, Ranma don't forget doing your make-up and going shopping and all those other girlie things you like to do."

Ranma gritted his teeth, "You're really asking for it..."

Akane sighed in exasperation and was glad when Yusuke turned to go to the junior high school. She turned to scold Ranma for picking on her younger brother.

'I don't know why she's always defending him! He's the jerk, not me!' Ranma thought, seething with jealousy.

Yusuke debated on whether or not he would actually go to the school. The arcade nearby had become one of his favorite hang-outs in Nerima. None of the insane Neriman residents went there. He stopped walking towards the school, even though he hadn't concluded his debate. His eyes narrowed, 'Hmm. Someone is following me.'

He turned and looked around, trying to find clue to where his follower might be. He blinked and stared at a seemingly harmless bush closely.

'Was that bush there a few minutes ago?'

The bush didn't move at all. Yusuke frowned, turned, and began heading towards the junior high school again.

'What kind of moron would choose a bush as a disguise, anyway? They only do that on cartoons.'

He stopped again. He was still being followed. He turned again and found to his surprise, that the bush was gone. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary behind him, he turned to walk to school... and found a trash can directly in the middle of his path. The lid opened with a pop and a young girl's pony-tailed head came up from the trash can. She looked at him curiously, not saying anything. Yusuke stared right back at her, unable to think of anything to say. Eventually, he recovered from the mind blank and crossed his arms.

"What are you looking at?"

The girl shrugged, "I don't know. You looked like a new face and I was just wondering who you were."

Yusuke frowned and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "What's it to you? If you're looking for some kind of fiance or whatever, you can forget it. I'm taken. I..."

The girl's eyes opened wide, "Taken? By who? Not Ukyou, right?"

"No. I barely know her." Yusuke rose an eyebrow at the strange girl in puzzlement. Something was really strange about her. Besides the obvious part of her dressed up as a trash can, of course...

The girl relaxed, "Good, because if you were trying to start something with MY Ukyou, I'd have to come after you, too. And that'd be a hassle because it gets hard enough going after that accursed Ranma Saotome..."

Yusuke stared at the girl blankly, "Did you just say your Ukyou?"

The girl nodded happily, "Yes! One day, Ukyou will realize her love for me and we will live happily ever after!"

She sighed in a dreamy, girlish way. Yusuke sweatdropped, 'She's a... a lesbian?'

He shrugged off his momentary shock, 'What do I care? Hmm. Says she doesn't like Ranma, though.'

As much as Yusuke loved fighting and beating people up, Ranma attacking him all the time was getting old. It was different when it was just Kuwabara attacking him all the time. He actually considered Kuwabara something of a friend, even before that time he died. Ranma... Well, Ranma just ticked him off. From the moment the pig-tailed boy had pointed at him, Yusuke knew he wasn't going to like him. He had become absolutely certain that he didn't like Ranma when he threatened him and the girly boy went all Mr. Goody Two Shoes Heroic.

"That reminds me! I need to be at Furinkan High, so that I can meet my Ukyou when she gets off of school and of course, DESTROY RANMA SAOTOME!" the girl shouted.

A look of determination crossed the girl's delicate features. Yusuke could've sworn for a second that she almost looked like a guy... but that was absurd.

"So, you don't like Ranma, either, huh?"

The girl's eyes lit up with excitement at meeting a possible ally, "You're absolutely right! I, Tsubasa, hate Ranma with a passion that almost burns as deeply as the passionate love I feel for my darling Ukyou."

'Ugh, Ukyou this, Ukyou that. What does she plan to do? Talk about how great Ukyou is until Ranma knocks himself out in an attempt to relieve his boredom?'

"Today is the day," Tsubasa whispered, "I will beat Ranma down... Because I have a secret weapon!"

Yusuke looked at her curiously, 'Secret weapon? I could always defeat Ranma myself. I have before, but... maybe if this girl is distracting him, he'll forget all about fighting me and I can get some sleep or something.'

"What secret weapon?"

Tsubasa blinked and turned to stare at him, "You're still here?"

Yusuke's eyes slanted in annoyance, "Yeah."

Tsubasa studied him carefully, "Hmm... Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you since you don't like Ranma, either. But I warn you, try and make off with my secret weapon and you'll be in a world of pain!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just show me your secret weapon already."

Tsubasa glanced from side to side and moved closer to him. Then, she pulled out a small stone statue of a snake and showed it to him. Yusuke stared at it, "You're going to konk him on the head with a snake statue?"

Tsubasa glared, "It's not a snake! It's a dragon! DRAGON! And this statue is more than what it seems. Housed within it is great power that has been passed down for generations and generations in my family. By saying the ancient password, the power will be unleashed and transform me into my greatest and most powerful costume ever! I will be unstoppable! I'll destroy Ranma! Then Ukyou will be ALL MINE!"

Yusuke waited for the maniacal laughter, but surprisingly, none came. He shrugged and took some time to examine the dragon statue. After close examination, Yusuke found that he was able to sense a lot of power in the statue.

'Hmm. She probably could defeat Ranma if she had this much power, still... there's a chance she'd lose, too. Maybe if I...'

"Hey, can you hand the statue over for a second?"

Tsubasa hugged the statue protectively, "Why? What are you going to do?"

"I can make it's power even more powerful. All you gotta do is trust me."

Tsubasa gazed at Yusuke warily. She frowned, but handed the statue over. Yusuke concentrated and transferred a small amount of his spirit energy into the statue. He smirked and handed it back to Tsubasa, 'Now, there's no way Ranma can win.'

* * *

Kurama avoided the almost predatory gazes of the Amazons in the village, Joketsuzoku.

'Perhaps it was a bad idea to come here.'

(Welcome to our village, male visitor.)

A young Amazon woman with long, green hair and blue eyes approached him and walked by his side.

(Do you visit for a reason?)

It took Kurama a moment to register the Chinese, but he nodded to indicate his understanding. He spoke as clearly as he could in Chinese, (I'm here for educational purposes. I would very much appreciate a guide to understand the particular culture of this village. I haven't seen a single man here.)

The Amazon woman laughed, (This is an Amazon village. I can tell from your accent that China is not your place of origin. You best be careful here. You're liable to end up a slave if you're not.)

'That would not be pleasant,' Kurama thought.

(Thank you for the warning...)

(Ped Le. And you are?)

(Shuichi. Shuichi Minamino.)

(Well, Shuichi, if you are looking for a guide, the one at Jusenkyo is very helpful. Heed his warnings.)

Kurama tried to refrain from bowing because he did not know whether or not it was appropriate in the Amazon village.

(Thank you very much.)

He was glad to leave that village. The look that Ped Le had given him was tame compared to the others, but he still felt like he was being looked at like a piece of meat to a hungry wolf. The training grounds of the Jusenkyo Springs hadn't been as far away as he had originally thought. The guide greeted him at the gate, (Ah, hello! Welcome to Jusenkyo!)

Kurama smiled, (Thank you. I heard from a villager in Joketsuzoku that you were an excellent guide and I was wondering...)

(Ah, sir. You speak Chinese awkwardly.)

Kurama nodded, (I am sorry if I'm butchering it. I have studied the language quite extensively, but this trip to China is the first time I have actually used it in a conversation with people who are Chinese.)

The guide stroked his chin thoughtfully, (If you would feel more comfortable, I could speak Japanese for you.)

(Oh, I didn't realize you could speak Japanese.)

"And that where you wrong," the guide said cheerfully.

"That's very good. Thank you. Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to be my guide. I am very interested in the culture around here. These springs... I hear they're cursed."

"Ah, very wise, sir. Jusenkyo Springs very very cursed. Those who fall in cursed springs, come out and transform into very cursed and very different being."

"I see. Could you explain further?" Kurama asked.

The guide nodded and led Kurama to the springs near the entrance.

"Take this spring here, for example. Yaazuniichuan. It's the Spring of Drowned Duck. Very cursed spring. Very tragic story of duck that drowned there... 1300 year ago. Now, whoever fall in take on the body of a duck. Like that strange boy from the Joketsuzoku village. He just walk in, fall in, and come out a duck! I try and warn him, sir, but he did not listen."

A bewildered look came across Kurama's face, "How is it that a duck can drown?"

The guide simply shook his head, "That why it tragic story, sir."

"Is there any cure?" Kurama asked.

The guide frowned and thought carefully, "Well, if boy or man fall into spring he could always try and dunk himself into Nannichuan. Spring of Drowned Man. Hmm. But hot water can temporarily change person back into their true form. But only until they get splashed with cold water. I hear cursed ones attract cold water a lot."

"Hmm. These springs sound very cursed, indeed. Do you know how this ground got this way? Ordinarily, someone who drowns in a spring does not leave it cursed..."

The guide was taken aback, "You ask good question, sir. No one else ask that."

The guide sighed and adjusted his green hat, "I very sorry, but that tragic story got lost many, many year ago. It fell into spring... Now, whoever fall into that spring turn into very long scroll depicting the story of how the Jusenkyo Springs came to be."

Kurama sweatdropped, "I... see. Would you mind if I looked around a bit, then?"

The guide frowned, "No, but be very very careful, sir. Springs very cursed. You might fall in..."

"I promise I'll be careful."

He headed into the fog shrouded training ground, curious as to what he might discover. His spirit senses stretched out before him and he focused on finding a source to the curse that fueled the Jusenkyo Springs.

* * *

Ranma walked alongside Akane as they exited the school.

"Look, Akane. It's no big deal. So, I flunked the math test. So, I flunked the literature test. But look on the bright side, at least I made a D+ on my science test."

Akane sweatdropped, "I keep telling you, none of that is a good thing! You better start doing some studying, Ranma or you're going to be in high school for the rest of your life."

"But Ukyou, I brought flowers! And I wrote you a poem! Erhm... My darling Ukyou, what words can describe the..."

**_WHAM!_**

"ACK!"

In the middle of a student crowd, a street sign had been attempting to gain the affections of a certain okonomiyaki chef, who upon tiring of the attention, whacked her suitor with her giant spatula. Ranma sighed heavily, "Maybe we can sneak out the back way, Akane."

"What do you mean we? Tsubasa isn't looking to attack me," she said.

Ranma sweatdropped and narrowed his eyes, "Thanks for the support..."

Tsubasa spotted Ranma through the crowd in an instant. She jumped through the dispersing crowd, "There you are, Ranma Saotome! You will not escape me!"

"Don't you have better things to do?"

Tsubasa thought for a moment and then shook her head, "Nope!"

Ranma sweatdropped, 'Should've seen that coming... You'd think someone around here would have a hobby that was something other than chasing me around.'

"You will meet your doom today, Ranma! For today, I have brought... MY SECRET WEAPON!"

Ranma frowned and quickly got into his fighting stance, "Yeah?"

Ukyou looked at Tsubasa puzzledly, 'Secret weapon? What's he babbling on about?'

Tsubasa smirked and pulled out the dragon statue. Ranma stared at it in confusion, "You're going to try and konk me on the head with a snake statue?"

Tsubasa growled and shouted defiantly, "DRAGON! It's a DRAGON!"

She grumbled under her breath, "Sheesh, doesn't anyone know what a dragon looks like, anymore?"

"All right, fine. It's a dragon. I don't see how it's suppose to be some kind of secret weapon, though."

The smirk came back, "Oh, you'll see..."

Tsubasa's eyes focused on the statue, "For the ancient password..."

Yusuke sat against a tree in the Furinkan High schoolyard, watching the entire thing.

"I should've brought some popcorn."

"DRAGON, I SUMMON YOU!"

Yusuke fell over when he heard Tsubasa's words, 'That's the ancient password? That's dumb.'

Suddenly, the sky began to darken and clouds loomed overhead. Ranma glanced up worriedly, thinking what most Jusenkyo-cursed would think during such a situation, 'I hope it's not going to rain.'

Lightening flashed in the sky and the dragon statue glowed a brilliant yellow. A stream of that energy shot into the sky in the form of a roaring dragon, shining the darkened area with its awesome power. Everyone looked up at the sky in awe. Then, quick as the energy had illuminated the area, it was brought back to the ground and it struck Tsubasa. Tsubasa's form began to glow a mix of yellow and a little bit of blue. When the glow left, Tsubasa was standing in a completely different costume. She was wearing dragon scales and a headdress that was similar to the head of a horned dragon. The strangest thing about the change in Tsubasa was her eyes. Her eyes had gone completely red.

"I will grant your," her red eyes glowed, "DEATH WISH!"

Ranma would not be intimidated. The fight went underway while Ukyou and Akane watched from the sidelines and Yusuke watched from his spot against the tree.

* * *

Kurama traveled deeper and deeper into the shroud surrounding the springs. He stepped carefully as he didn't want to accidentally walk into one of the cursed springs that surrounded him. He sensed a great deal of spirit energy in the area.

'But where is the source?'

Kurama stopped, believing he had heard something. A quiet voice seemed to come from the haze over the Jusenkyo Springs.

"Drowned Cat. Spring of Drowned Caterpillar. Spring of..."

The voice stopped. Kurama listened for it closely, but heard no more of the voice. He moved forward slightly, "Is someone there?"

"It has been 1700 years since this one has seen the spirit of a fox demon."

Kurama paused and his eyes shifted from side to side slowly, "Who is there?"

"You will be cursed."

"Where are you?"

"You didn't notice."

Kurama stood on guard, "Notice what?"

"You slipped into the tongue of demons almost automatically when spoken to by this one. You hide. Hmm. Or you had yourself reincarnated or whatever other nonsense you fox demons pull."

'So, the voice belongs to a demon...'

"Tell me, demon, where are you? Who are you? Why are you here in this place?"

"This one cannot say who this one is. This one is cursed..."

Kurama reached out with his senses in an attempt to find a demonic presence, "Did you fall in a spring?"

"No. This one is all springs. This cursed ground is this one's curse."

"I do not understand."

"This one is cursed..."

"Yes. But how? Why?" Kurama asked.

"This one is a fool. This one wanted to possess this section of China. It's big section."

"You were stopped, obviously."

"Yes. This one was confronted by powerful, powerful man. He was Lo Ki. He weakened this one and this one fled. This one later gathered strength, but this one only attacked local villages. This one wanted nothing to do with taking over one section of China."

"You were stopped in that as well."

"A monk who said in so many words that he was the Quickening Striker of Evil, confronted this one on this ground. The monk was not powerful and by all standards, he was a fool, too. All he could talk about was winning the hand of his adorably strong goddess. Even when this one had him near death. But this one did not expect the surge of power that rose in him at that point. In his final breath, he sealed this one into the ground and promised to return to the world, like a bolt of lightening as he said, to bring justice to all evil. This one did not comprehend the full power of the seal. Years passed, this one was weakening from hunger. Until war came here..."

Kurama sighed and found where the topic was headed.

"You fed on the souls of those that had died?"

"Those who lived attempted to bury dead bodies in this ground here. This one had easy access to souls. This one ate plenty. Something went wrong. Those who lived were whisked away in battle and could not complete the burying. Then, it rained for many days and many nights. Filling the holes up with water. Restless souls made this one hurt inside with their resistance. This one could hear them before they faded... that this one could never eat again and that this one could never have identity again. They vowed revenge on all those living..."

"They were powerful enough to set a curse..." Kurama said.

"Many who came here from that point on drowned or nearly drowned in the springs. The tainted waters held reflections of their souls... and whoever fall into those springs become that reflection. Some of the springs now have not yet been fallen into, but they are still tainted..."

'That is the story of these Jusenkyo Springs,' Kurama thought.

"You will be cursed, too," the disembodied voice said.

"I am sure-footed. I will not fall into a spring."

"It doesn't matter. All who come here fall into the springs."

"Oh, but what about the guide?" Kurama asked.

"He does not disrupt the burial ground. Those who come here as you do, seeking answers, or those who come here seeking training or even those who come here to be punished disrupt the burial ground. They are the ones that make the curse most strong."

Kurama frowned, "I didn't wish to cause disturbance..."

"But you did. Now, you will be cursed."

"Nothing is certain."

"This one knows. This one can sense it."

Kurama heard the voice begin to fade as it carried on with its naming of the springs.

"Spring of Drowned Cow. Spring of Drowned Crab..."

He could no longer hear the voice. Kurama turned and attempted to find his way out of the mist that laid over the Jusenkyo Springs.

'I will find my way out eventually...'

He stopped quickly before he could walk into a spring. He glanced around him, 'There's so many here...'

He jumped carefully to the other ends of the springs. He was thankful for his grace, otherwise he would've surely fallen into one of them. The shroud was beginning to clear some.

'That shadow... I think it's the guide.'

Kurama felt the ground beneath his feet come out from under him. His eyes widened, 'Moss...'

**_SPLASH!_**

Much to his despair, he sank into the spring, 'Vengeful spirits, please do not put a curse on me...'

Somewhere, Kurama was certain he could hear laughing.

* * *

Ranma gritted his teeth as he tried to overcome his exhaustion, 'I don't get it. How could Tsubasa be so strong? What was in that statue?'

"FEAR MY RAW POWER!" Tsubasa shouted.

Ranma braced himself for the attack and dodged at just the right moment. Tsubasa's scaled fists sliced through the air, not once landing a hit. Ranma winced, feeling the sting of his old bruises and scrapes from before. He could not let Tsubasa get hits in. They parted from each other and once again found themselves in a stand-off. Each trying to predict the other's moves. Ranma shuddered involuntarily at Tsubasa's fierce eye-glowing gaze. He quickly regained his composure.

'I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts! I've defeated Tsubasa over and over and over again! Why will this fight be any different? He's changed costume, but he's still the same Tsubasa on the inside...'

"HEY, TSUBASA!" Ranma pointed behind Tsubasa, "Ukyou's smiling at you!"

Tsubasa's red eyes bulged and he turned quickly, "Oh, Ukyou!"

'Got him!' Ranma thought.

Summoning up the confidence only he could possess, Ranma pushed his fists together and released a wave of energy.

"MOKO TAKABISHA!"

Tsubasa turned, having been disappointed to find that Ukyou was actually smiling at Ranma, to his opponent in time to see the confidence energy streaming towards him. He frowned, "Hey, that was a cheap trick!"

**_WHAM!_**

Direct hit.

Yusuke shielded his eyes from the brightness of the energy blast.

'Never saw him do that before. Wonder why he wants to learn my attack so bad? Looks like his works just fine...'

The schoolyard debris stirred up as a result of the blast finally cleared. Tsubasa was still standing. Ranma's eyes widened, 'No way...'

Ukyou and Akane looked on anxiously.

'Ranma might lose this one,' Akane thought.

Ukyou muttered to herself, "No way Ranma is going to lose to that idiot... He'll come through. He always does."

Spirals suddenly replaced the red-glowing eyes Tsubasa had.

"Pain..." He wheezed.

Ranma felt his confidence return. He knew Tsubasa wouldn't have come out of that unscathed. Tsubasa shook his dragon-ish adorned head and glared at Ranma, "You think you have defeated me? I will never give up! Never!"

Ranma readied himself to unleash a massive assault. But then...

"ARRRGHH! FOUL BEAST, I WILL SLAY THEE! FOR I AM..."

Ranma resisted the overwhelming urge to facefault. Kuno jumped over him and threw something green at Tsubasa. Tsubasa caught it and blinked, "A watermelon?"

"THE CHIVALROUS WARRIOR OF FURINKAN HIGH!" Kuno shouted.

**_Fwip. WHAM! Fwip. WHAM! Fwip. WHAM!_**

Ranma stared as Kuno ceaselessly struck Tsubasa with his bokken. Tsubasa didn't have a chance to protest the unjustice of being attacked by someone other than the accursed Ranma Saotome. Nabiki creeped inbetween Akane and Ukyou.

"He's hopeless, isn't he?" she said, pocketing some money she had in her hand.

Akane sweatdropped, "Yep..."

Ukyou glanced at Nabiki, "Did you arrange this?"

"If by arrange, you mean tell Kuno a dragon was attacking two fair damsels in distress than, yes. I did. If you're talking about arranging a fight between Ranma and Tsubasa, you should by now that I don't have to," Nabiki said.

Then, a sly grin came to her face, "But if you're interested in knowing what a certain someone did to make Tsubasa powerful enough to stand up against Ranma, I might be obligated to give you some information."

Ukyou narrowed her eyes, "At what price?"

"Mm..." Nabiki thought, "How about... Oh, well, I'm feeling generous today. 3,000 yen."

Ukyou muttered under her breath and handed the money to her. Nabiki counted the money and pocketed it, "Yusuke Urameshi has a lot of explaining to do."

Akane blinked, 'Yusuke? He helped cause all of this?'

She suddenly felt someone grab her hand. Kuno held the hands of Ukyou and Akane, "Akane Tendo... and fair maiden whose beauty I had not yet realized until now. I have saved you both from the dragon creature. I would date with the both of thee... Sunday! And..."

Ukyou and Akane kicked him into orbit. Ukyou grumbled, "The nerve of that guy... It's one of the reasons why I dress up as a boy!"

Ranma walked over to the three girls, "Well, Tsubasa won't be in any condition to fight for a while. Kuno really did a number on him."

"Good. Maybe he'll stop pestering me for a change," Ukyou said.

Ranma nodded and yawned, "That was... tiring. I think I'm going to take a nap."

He fell to the ground. Ukyou and Akane rushed to his side to help him up. Yusuke watched, pleased with the turn of events.

'It worked! Good. I can finally rest easy without wondering when Ranma is going to start another one of his stupid fights,' he thought.

A small cheer reached Ukyou's ears. She glanced at the boy by the tree in the schoolyard and narrowed her eyes.

'That looks like Urameshi. If he had anything to do with this fight, I will make him pay.'

* * *

Kurama gasped for air and pulled himself out of the spring. He could only wonder what had happened to him. The Chinese guide emerged from the mist.

"Ah, very bad, sir. You fall in the Spring of Drowned Child. Legend say that child fall in there and drown 2, 200 year ago. Now, whoever fall in that spring become child again."

The Chinese guide's eyes widened, "Ah... uh... sir. You no tell me you were fox demon."

Kurama choked, whether on water or in surprise at the short man's statement, he didn't know. He peered at his reflection and saw a young, round face with white hair and pointed ears on top of his head.

"Oh no..." He gasped and covered his mouth. He sounded so... so young! The Chinese guide fidgeted.

"Ah, sir... You not mad? I did try and warn you..."

Kurama stared into the yellow eyes of his reflection, unable to say anything. How was he going to hide this from his mother?


End file.
